Envy
by Laura the explorer 91
Summary: *Re-edited After being removed* Rose was a simple and down to earth young woman making her way through life, studying at Uni and dreaming about her future job. One evening she enters a Family Guy competition which changes her life forever, she meets her idol Seth MacFarlane and her world gets turned upside down!
1. Chapter 1

Hello people! :) I decided to put Envy back up as so many people have been asking me where it went... honestly... I had quite a nasty email from the website saying that i'd somehow 'violated' their terms and conditions.. even though i hadn't! and that people had reported my story.. so I wasn't a happy cookie!  
So with a little editing i've decided to re-post it :)  
Please don't report it, it's just a fanfic story about my Idol Seth MacFarlane, there's no copyright or anything that needs to be reported. It's a pride and joy of mine and i really don't want it to be removed again!  
Happy Reading! :D

* * *

"Rose? Rose come on open the door!" Rose finally looked up from her drawings and realised that somebody had been knocking on her door. "Just a sec" she croaked out as she moved all of the screwed up pieces of paper and freed herself from the table. She quickly opened the door to find her best friend Harriet on the other end holding two bags of food.

"Oh hey remember me? Your best friend?"

"Sorry Haz" Rose said stepping aside to let Harriet into her room. Harriet looked around and saw all of the balled up paper "Another assignment?" is all she said setting the bags of food down on a free space in the kitchen.

"How'd you guess?" Rose replied sorting her papers out making sure none of them got mixed up.

Rose Daniels was currently studying film animation down at California state university in Los Angeles. It was her second year down there and her assignments were gradually getting tougher and tougher. But she never complained; she'd loved to draw since she was 5 and would never stop.

Standing at 5 foot 10, weighing about 120 pounds and having the grand age of 22, Rose was just a normal average young woman ploughing through life. People always described Rose as 'Different' and she couldn't really argue with that, with waste length red fiery hair and baby blue eyes she could definitely stand out in a crowd. Her music taste varied really, from Country music, to old 50's and 60's music, to classical to even punk rock. Rose would listen to anything and it'd always make her happy, life without music would be boring.

Rose could never quite figure out how her best friend Harriet came to like her so much, with Harriet being the complete opposite of Rose. Harriet had blonde curly hair and a stereotypical slim body, and was into chasing boys and getting her heart broken, one night stands; partying, clubs and a whole lot more. She'd never smoked or done drugs before which made Rose proud. Being the complete opposite of each other made them stronger as best friends. They could tell each other anything and share their deepest darkest secrets and not judge each other.

"Man these things look hard" Harriet said as she set Rose's plate down on the table, casually admiring her storyboards.

"Tell me about it" Rose replied with a yawn making Harriet frown.

"You not get any sleep?"

"No" Rose grumbled as she dug into her breakfast.

"Rose you know that's not healthy"

"I know but these need to be finished"

"When's the deadline?"

"Next Friday"

"But that's ages away! Rose it's only Wednesday of this week"

"I know but they need to get finished because he's giving us another project soon"

"Yikes, why'd you take that course in the first place?"

"Because I love animation, you must know that by now"

"Yes I do know... that picture of me still stands proudly in the lounge at Uni" Harriet frowned at that, Rose had drew a goofy picture of Harriet one day just for a laugh. But one of their guy friends Justin had found it when he came over one night, he'd found it so funny he hung it up in the Uni lounge where everybody could see it. At first it got a lot of attention giving Harriet some heat but soon people just accepted it and moved on.

"Sorry" Rose mumbled and then smirked as she remembered it.

"Oh come on Rose it wasn't funny!"

"It so was" Rose replied with a laugh making Harriet frown but then smile, Rose's laugh was too infectious. "So what do you plan to do today with our day off?" Harriet asked changing the subject.

"Hmm well I suppose I better get this finished, what about you?"

"I've got a date"

"Another one?" Rose asked surprised at her friend. Harriet had always been chased around by boys since being at Uni, all asking her out on dates. Yet Rose hadn't been asked out once, there was nothing wrong with her though, she'd been called beautiful by many people, but she just hadn't found the right guy yet.

"Yeah, you sound surprised" Harriet replied as she messed with her food on the plate.

"Well I am really"

"Why?"

"Didn't you just break up with Matt on Sunday?"

"That wasn't anything serious, but Josh is just amazing"

"Josh Thompson?" Rose asked raising an eyebrow, "Head of the baseball team Josh?"

"Yes"

"Oh, well go you" Rose smiled widely at her friend making Harriet smile back. "I'm so excited about it, he's so amazing" Harriet continue to ramble and Rose just sighed. She could see straight through Josh, he was a player and only after one thing but Harriet and the rest of the girls in Uni couldn't see that. Rose had never had a boyfriend before, but her mama had raised her to know what was right from wrong in a guy.

"Just be careful ok Haz?"

"Of course I will Rose" Harriet replied giving Rose's hand a squeeze.

"Anyway babe I better get moving, I need my nails done"

"Okay"

"Wanna come with?"

"Nah I've gotta get this done"

"Okay then, just give me a ring if you change your mind or if you need anything"

"Thanks"

"Love ya"

"Love you too Haz" then Rose smiled as Harriet put her plate in the sink and left the room. Rose just shook her head and smiled, Harriet knew everything about beauty and was always giving Rose tips and advice on things. She'd taken health and beauty for her first year at uni but Harriet felt she was too smart for the class and dropped out, then settled for an English degree instead, and was actually doing pretty well. Although she'd always leave her assignments till the last minute and then somehow persuade the professor into giving her some more time. It was just how Harriet was, and Rose had just learnt to accept and love her just the way she was.

* * *

"Oh my god this boy was so cute and he smiled at me and everything" Rose just had to make noises as Harriet continued blabbering away down the phone. It was a thing Harriet did often, just call Rose whenever she felt like it to tell her about this boy she liked or who was looking at her. Harriet did have a reputation of being an 'All about me' type of girl but Rose just ignored it. Of course she smiled and nodded whenever Harriet spoke and gave her advice when she needed it, but she never let it bother her. There was no envy or jealously between them, both girls were beautiful in their own way.

"Maybe he liked you too" Rose replied as she tried to cradle the phone between her ear and shoulder, so she could still draw and hold the paper still.

"Oh my god you think so!? Maybe I should ask him out?"

"You do remember your date with Josh tonight don't you?"

"Yeah why?"

"Nothing it's just if all goes well, you could start a relationship with him"

"Oh yeah… never thought about that"

"Exactly"

"Anyway how is the drawing coming along?"

"Not too badly now, just got one more storyboard page to complete and it's finished until next week"

"That's good Rose"

"Thanks"

"You up to anything else after that?"

"I was just gonna check my emails, see if there's one from my dad"

"Cool, after that you wanna come meet me down at the mall?" Harriet sounded a little pleading and Rose smiled, "Let me guess, you need my opinion on what to wear for tonight?"

"Damn how'd you guess?"

"It's just a thing I've picked up on"

Harriet laughed and said "Okay you caught me, anyway come and meet me around 12ish and we can go get some lunch"

"You eat non-stop and stay so thin!"

"I know"

"That is one thing I envy" Rose laughed along with Harriet and then said "Okay I'll meet you in a bit"

"Excellent! Later chick"

"Later Haz" Rose then put her phone back in her pocket and continued focusing on her drawings. She only had one more to do and then she was finished.

Rose had been drawing sketches for her own cartoon show for years, but was always too afraid to send it out to different companies. She'd drawn most of it and recorded the voices of the characters on a disk; she just needed to animate it somehow and then send it off, but couldn't face being rejected. She knew it sounded dumb as her mama had always said that sometimes in life you need to lose in order to grow stronger, but rejection always upset Rose.

It was probably because of her dad leaving at such a young age that she became to fear rejection, her parents split up when she was only 4 and she remembered her dad's cold words before he left, _"Daddy doesn't want you anymore, you were a bad daughter, daddy's leaving because of you" _those words haunted Rose for years and years and she could still get a chill from them to this very day.

Bringing up the past was always difficult for Rose; she'd had a hard upbringing and was surprised she turned out normal. When her dad left her mama turned to drink and always blamed Rose for his leaving, beating her with a belt and calling her all kinds of foul names.

Rose hated it and felt like she was living in a nightmare, but as she grew up her mama began to ease off. She broke down in tears one day when Rose was 15 and apologised for everything that had happened for the last 10 years. Rose was too afraid to say anything; the scars on her body would stay with her forever as would all of the memories of the beatings that caused them. Rose would always listen to her mama and do as she said, but would never look her in the eye or ask for anything in case she got beaten again. Which is why Rose was grateful when she turned 18 and finished High school so she could move out and live on her own.

At first things were tough, finding a good place to stay but she soon enrolled into a small college, which focused on animation for beginners. She enjoyed that so much she enrolled further and soon found herself in University studying her favourite subject to focus on getting a job for the future. Everything turned out for the better in the end, so Rose just focused on the happy things in life and not the past.

"Finished!" Rose said happily as she put her pencil down and rubbed her eyes. Another assignment out the way…until her professor dumped another one in front of her tomorrow. She stretched in her chair before gathering up her papers carefully and in order so she could bind them together so they wouldn't get muddled up. Then she packed it away in her bag and put all of her pens and pencils back where they belonged.

Rose then looked at the clock and groaned, it was heading up to midday and she had to meet Harriet down at the mall to be dragged around every clothes shop. Until Harriet found the perfect dress, she'd shop everywhere until she found it and was completely satisfied. Rose always thought she was energetic, but nobody could compare to Harriet's crazy energy when it came to clothes shopping.

"Best check my emails now then," Rose mumbled to herself as she waited for her computer to load up, it was the slowest and oldest computer in the world! But it was all she could afford and at least she had managed to set up wireless Internet causing some other flatmates to be jealous.

Rose lived on campus at the Uni as she couldn't afford a fancy apartment up the street. Harriet had managed to worm her way into living in a proper apartment further up the street, with some of her other girlfriends but always came to visit Rose nearly every hour of every day. Rose didn't mind living in her little room; it had everything she needed and more. She'd made some good friends and they always got together a couple of times a month to go out for a drink.

"Eugh finally" Rose grumbled as her computer finally finished loading so she could open up her emails. Most of it was junk really, nothing from her dad, she wasn't surprised really, and he barely spoke to her nowadays anyway. He'd tried to get in contact with her when she turned 18 but Rose wanted nothing to do with him, but when her mama told her she should try and bond with him she couldn't say no without that fear again.

So she tried to keep in contact with him and talk about her life, but he was too interested in bragging about his new family in Hawaii. A new perfect wife and 2 new children, great… now Rose had a stepsister and a stepbrother she'd never see!

"Nothing from 'dear old dad'… what a shame" Rose grumbled to herself as she browsed through her emails and sighed. But then she came across her monthly annual newsletter from Family Guy. She'd signed up to their official website for news and updates on new series etc. So she opened it and looked through it and then spotted their article about a competition to meet and greet the cast:

_Calling all Family Guy fans!_

_Ever had dreams about meeting Seth MacFarlane? Well now's your chance!_

_How would YOU like to take a tour of the studio where Family Guy is created? Meet and greet the cast and then spend a magical evening filled with fun and laughter watching Family Guy the Musical? If that interests you then enter our competition now! Just write a 1000 word essay on why we should pick you and then you and a friend of yours will be whisked away to be taken to the studios for a fun filled afternoon followed by an even better evening! _

_Don't miss out on this great competition, enter NOW!_

"Oh wow that's amazing!" Rose nearly squealed as she clicked on the website after reading all of the small details. The deadline for the competition ended tonight and then the winner would be announced Friday evening. She had to start writing out her essay now! She couldn't care less if she'd be late meeting Harriet; she had to enter this competition!

"Okay Rose just calm down" she said to herself breathing in and out deeply, she was getting giddy and excited but she needed to focus in order to write out a perfect essay. But all that came to mind was "I love Seth MacFarlane!" but that wasn't a good thing to write.

Seth MacFarlane had been her idol for years; she'd followed him throughout his career, through working for Hannah Barbera, to his acting career on Star trek, The War at Home and Gilmore girls, to the present time where he was creating Family Guy, American Dad and his third pride and joy, the Cleveland Show. He was her inspiration for getting involved in Animation and pursuing her dreams of being a future producer of her own Television cartoon. She worshipped the ground that man walked on and had nothing but love and respect for him. And meeting him in person would be the best thing ever, so this 1000 word essay had to be good!

"Right let's get started then!"

* * *

"Where the hell have you been!" Harriet said as she watched Rose trudging along slowly to where they were supposed to meet.

"Sorry Haz I got caught up with things"

"What things?"

"Just things"

Harriet just looked at Rose and then said "Tell me"

"I was browsing the Internet and I checked my emails and my monthly Family Guy news letter arrived"

"And…"

"And they've got a competition to meet and greet the cast!"

"Oh my god that's awesome!"

"I know!"

"Did you enter it?"

"Yeah of course! That's why I took so long"

"What did you have to do?"

"Write a thousand word essay on why I think I should be chosen"

"Well that's good because you'll certainly win!"

"How'd you know?"

"Did you talk about studying animation and how Seth is your idol?"

"Yes"

"Then it's a sure sign you'll win, they'll be looking for smart people who are serious"

"Let's hope so"

"When's the deadline for the competition?"

"Tonight"

"Wow it's a good job you checked then"

"I know it was so lucky"

"When do they announce the winner?"

"On Friday evening"

"Well we'll have to keep a good eye out for it"

"I'll probably be in so I'll keep checking"

"What do you actually win?"

"A chance to tour the studios where Family Guy is created, then they drop you back home to get changed to get ready for the show later that night"

"The show?"

"Yeah there's a big family guy musical on the night in the downtown Theatre"

"Oh wow I heard about that, tickets sold out in seconds when they were released"

"Its front row tickets plus 2 backstage passes to meet up with the cast again after the show"

"Oh man that's awesome! I so hope you win it"

"Yeah me too"

"Let's go get some food and a drink to celebrate!"

"I'm up for that!" then both girls laughed and linked arms as they walked around the mall finding a good place to eat before finding the perfect outfit for Harriet to wear on her date later tonight.

* * *

"You sure I look okay?" Harriet asked as she stood in front of Rose's mirror checking herself out for the millionth time.

"Yes you look perfect" Rose replied as she put her magazine aside to look at Harriet.

"Do you think I've got enough make-up on?"

"Yes… plenty" Rose replied looking at Harriet who was caked in make-up, _"It's what men like Rose" _Harriet always said to Rose. She was into the fake tan and foundation so she did look orange, but Rose just smiled and agreed with whatever she said.

"I love you Rose, you're so honest" Harriet said as she touched up her mascara in the mirror making Rose pull a face behind her which went unseen.

"I love you too Harriet and like I said, just be careful"

"I will honeybee" Harriet replied finally stepping away from the mirror to grab her purse.

"And remember if the girls are all asleep in your house you can come and crash at mine, you've got your key" Harriet shook her bag and her keys jingled "Yep I've got them"

"Good now go have a good time" Harriet hugged Rose before heading out, "Later Rosie"

"Later Hazzie" then Rose closed the door when Harriet left. Another boring night spent alone with nothing to do, "Well I could continue drawing my cartoon" Rose said to herself thoughtfully as she tapped her chin with her finger, "Might as well" then she walked into her living room area and pulled out a big box filled with her drawings. It was halfway there now and just needed to be scanned onto a computer to be animated with the voices added in. She'd have to ask the professor during the Summer holiday break if she could come in and use one of the computers with the software on it, as her computer would have a breakdown and die if she tried to install new software on it.

Rose got everything out of the box that she needed and then started drawing some sketches quickly to get back into drawing mode. She could never start drawing straight away, she needed to practise first to warm up so she wouldn't make mistakes and get frustrated.

"Another night spent inside" Rose grumbled to herself as she sharpened her pencils before using them.

When she started University she never really did fit in, there were a few people she recognised from high school but they didn't acknowledge her. So she was alone until she met Harriet, they clicked right from start and Harriet accepted Rose for who she was. But apart from Harriet and her friends down the hallway she didn't really have anybody else to speak to. At first it bothered her because Harriet would always get dates and boyfriends left, right and centre. They were basically queuing up at her door and Rose always wondered what guys saw in her, caked in make-up and wearing skirts so short she might as well just go outside in her underwear. Guys loved her yet Rose was always invisible, they weren't interested in girls like Rose who was labelled 'Different' as well as the class 'Dork'. She was smart and had a lot of things to offer, but she felt like she repelled guys.

"Best not dwell on that" Rose said as she was drawing, "If I win this family guy competition it could change my whole life" Rose smiled widely at that and stopped drawing to think about it. If she met Seth it would be incredible, he was perfect and the kinda guy she wanted as a boyfriend: Kind, caring, funny, charming and good looking. It fitted perfectly but she was definitely dreaming and kidding herself if she could ever be with him. She was 22 and he was 30, he was rich and she was struggling to make ends meet with bills and looking for her own apartment. They were complete opposites when she thought about it, "But like they say, opposites attract" Rose smiled to herself again and shook her head, "Man am I crazy" then she continued to draw pictures for her cartoon whilst daydreaming about Seth and being the future Mrs MacFarlane.

* * *

"Rosie seriously, refreshing the page every minute isn't going to help" Harriet said as she watched her friend refresh her email page again and again and again. "It might" is all Rose replied as she looked at her emails. It had been 2 days since the competition closed and they were announcing the winner tonight. She was excited and was keeping an eye out every few minutes; it was driving Harriet crazy so she was glad she had another date.

"Honeybee you really need to step away from the screen" Rose mumbled a reply and Harriet frowned, "Just relax okay, watch some TV or even go outside for a walk to get some air" Rose then turned around and looked at Harriet like Christmas had been cancelled, go outside? And leave her computer? Nooooo!

"I can't leave my computer"

"And why not?"

"Because I might miss the email!"

"Yeah that would be tragic wouldn't it" Rose just snarled at Harriet as a response getting her to smile, "You're so childish when you do that. It'll only be a couple of minutes just to get some air. Do I have to drag you?"

"You wouldn't dare"

"Course not I'd break my nails and crease my outfit"

"How's it going with Josh then?"

"Awesome! He's just so perfect"

"How far have you gone with him?" Harriet had a reputation when dating for going too fast and jumping into bed on the first date.

"We're going slow"

"That's good I'm proud of you Haz"

"Well I listened to your advice and decided to try things differently this time and if he can't stand it then he can get lost"

"Wow I'm happy for you Haz, I'm proud that you're being so strong"

"Thanks" Harriet replied with a smile and then she said "Come on Rose, just a small walk around before Josh comes to meet me at 7pm?"

"Okay then" Rose said with a sigh as she hesitantly left her computer to go for a stroll around outside for a stroll.

Rose got back from her walk with Harriet and quickly went over to her computer and refreshed the page, but nothing had changed. No new emails since she'd left. "Eugh that's soo not far!" Rose whined as she ran a hand through her hair and went over to her couch to sulk. Some other lucky bitch had probably won it and was probably gonna scream down Seth's ear rather than speak to him about art and animation.

"Lucky bitch" Rose mumbled as she switched the TV on to pass the time away. She was bored out of her mind and didn't have Harriet here to bug; she was on another date with Josh. He was just a no good player but Harriet couldn't see that and just floated around on a cloud. And if it all fell to pieces, Rose would be the one picking up the pieces and being Harriet's shoulder to cry on. Rose just sighed and continued watching the crap on the TV to make the time go quicker.

* * *

It reached around midnight when Rose suddenly woke from fear; she'd had another one of her horrid nightmares about her mama beating her. It was painful and heartbreaking to go through, especially getting flashbacks of it. Rose rubbed her eyes from the sleep and had to squint as the light from her computer lit the room up. The TV was still on but she switched it off with the remote and went over to the computer to close it down. But she thought for one last time she'd refresh the page to see if anything new had arrived in her inbox. So she clicked the refresh button and was stunned when she saw that she had 1 new email from the Family Guy website.

"Probably a rejection" Rose mumbled to herself as she sat herself down in her chair and opened the email:

_Congratulations Rose Daniels!_

_It is indeed a pleasure to say you have won the Family Guy competition! Your essay was the best one we received and we're proud to say you have won the tickets to see Family Guy the Musical and to tour the studios! _

_We need you to email us your details back so we can send you the tickets and backstage passes as soon as we can. The show is on Friday 18__th__ June in the downtown Theatre and we will arrange a limo for your transport. We can't wait to meet you!_

_See you there!_

_Spencer_

Rose just stared at the screen in complete shock… she'd won? She'd actually won the competition? Oh wow… She'd WON!

"Oh my god!" she squealed happily as she got up from the chair to celebrate, "I've won! I've actually won!" then she squealed again as she searched around for her cell phone, she had to call Harriet! She flicked through her contacts and soon found Harriet and waited a while until she heard a sleepy response, "Hello?"

"Harriet! I won!"

"What?"

"I won the competition!"

"You rang me up at stupid o'clock in the morning to tell me that? Rose get a life" then Harriet hung up the phone and Rose smirked, "3, 2, 1…" then as if on cue her phone started ringing again. "OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS!" Came Harriet's voice down the phone making Rose laugh,

"Yes I'm serious!"

"You won? you actually won!"

"I know it's awesome!"

"When are we going?"

"What do you mean _we_?"

"Well I am your best friend"

"Yeah"

"So I should get to come"

"Alright fine" Rose held the phone away from her ear as Harriet squealed in excitement

"That's awesome thank you!"

"You're welcome Haz"

"Anyway I better go as I think I've woke the whole house up"

Rose laughed and said "Yeah same here"

"I'll swing by tomorrow and talk to you about it"

"Okay then"

"And we have to go shopping for new outfits!"

"Harriet you've got hundreds of outfits!"

"Not for something as special as this! We need to take extra care to be noticed"

"Okay fine"

"Great! It'll be the perfect girly day out"

"Sounds fun"

"It will be, anyway babe I better go"

"Okay night"

"Night honeybee" Rose threw her phone back on the couch and felt like squealing again, this was all so exiting! She'd just won a competition to go and meet her dream man! She didn't care if she'd woken up the whole building; she was going to meet Seth MacFarlane!


	2. Chapter 2

"Stop panicking everything's going to be fine" Harriet said as she watched Rose pace back and forth in her room.

"Stop panicking? Haz I'm going to meet my idol!"

"I know that but you can't show up looking like this, you'll look like an idiot and say something stupid"

"I just can't shake the nerves off, he's incredible and just… everything in between"

"Honeybee it'll be just fine, just talk to him like normal"

"Well there's a slight chance that he might not be there"

"What? Why?"

"Spencer mentioned in the email he sent me yesterday that Seth might be in another part of the building"

"Which part?"

"Where they record the orchestra for the small bits of music"

"Oh"

"But that's not bothering me, everybody else will be there" Rose then fiddled with her cardigan one more time making sure she looked alright. She'd settled for a skirt with her sky blue t-shirt and her blue long length cardigan. She decided to tie her hair up out of the way as it was quite hot today. But it didn't make much difference as it still hung down by her waist. "You're so lucky to have long hair," Harriet said as she was touching up her make-up.

"Well if you'd stop cutting yours then maybe it'd grow"

"Oh _Haha_ very funny" Rose just smiled as she got everything together in her bag. She decided to take some of her drawings to show people what she'd been doing at Uni in her classes. Maybe Seth would be able to look at them and maybe sign them… that would be amazing!

"You ready to go honeybee?" Harriet asked as she grabbed her purse and looking at Rose scurrying around putting things in a folder.

"What's all that?"

"Just some of my work to show the guys"

"Oh, wow that'd be cool if they liked it"

"I hope they do" Harriet smiled and then said "Limo should be picking us up around now so we better wait outside" Rose nodded and then waited until Harriet walked out the door. It was annoying her that Harriet was trying to take control of everything, Rose was the one that had won the competition yet it was Harriet trying to make a 'day plan' to follow. But Rose just shook her head and made sure she had the tickets and everything else before heading out the door to wait for the limo.

* * *

The limo dropped off Rose and Harriet outside the FOX studios and the driver said to phone him when they were finished. Rose smiled as he drove away and then she looked back at the building and let out a shaky breath, this was it. This was where Seth created his dream cartoon everyday of every week. Right now he was currently in this building somewhere and it was making Rose's stomach feel queasy with nerves.

"Well instead of standing out here like lemons let's go!" Harriet said excitedly but Rose grabbed her arm to stop her and said "Whoa! Slow down missy"

"What?"

"Before we go inside I just wanna make a few things clear"

"Like what?"

"Speak to them normally like they're human beings, don't scream at them and just control yourself"

"Duhh who do you think I am?"

"I know you Haz"

"I'll be on my best behaviour"

"You promise?"

"Yes I promise"

"Good"

"Now can we go inside?"

"Yeah let's find our way round this place"

"Great" then Harriet dragged Rose inside and headed for the main reception desk where a woman was sitting there working on her computer, but looked up when both women approached. "Welcome to FOX studios, how can I help?"

"Yeah hi we-" Harriet started but Rose elbowed her and she stopped talking and glared at Rose.

"Good morning I'm Rose Daniels, I won a competition for Family Guy"

"Ahh yes Miss Daniels we've been expecting you, I'll just take you up there now"

"Thank you very much" the woman got up from her seat and then walked a few feet ahead towards the elevator.

"Why'd you do that?" Harriet said snappily as she walked with Rose.

"Because I won this competition and have better manners than you"

"Yeah whatever" Rose just frowned at Harriet, what had got her so cranky this morning? They both got in the elevator with the receptionist who took them to the floor Family Guy was on. It didn't take long before the doors pinged open and they stepped out of the elevator.

"This is it" Rose mumbled to herself as they walked down the corridor and then into another hallway where another receptionist was working. But she looked up and said "Morning Trisha how can I help?"

"I've got Miss Daniels and her friend here, she won the competition"

"Ahh yes I've just spoken to Spencer, he went to get a quick snack and he'll be back shortly"

"Thank you Ashley, I hope you and your friend have a love time Miss Daniels"

"Thank you that's very nice of you" Rose replied with a smile as she watched Trisha head off to the elevator. "This is sooo cool and we haven't even started the tour yet" Harriet said excited as she looked around the building, the cardboard cut outs of the characters weren't too far away, a place where Seth had posed for pictures many times. Rose took out her camera and snapped a few pictures before Harriet said, "Take some with me in!" Rose sighed and then snapped a few pictures with Harriet posing, never once asking to take Rose's photo as well. Rose just sighed as she looked around but then smiled when a young man was heading towards them, "Hi I'm Artie, Seth's other assistant, Spencer will be right with you, he's like a kid in a candy store right now"

Rose just smiled and said "That's alright, it's always good to love chocolate"

"Not as much as him, he's crazy" Rose laughed and Artie smiled. "Are you the girl who won the competition?"

"Yes, Rose Daniels it's lovely to meet you" Rose heard somebody clear their throat and then she rolled her eyes, "And this here is my friend Harriet"

"Hi it's so nice to meet you" Harriet said in a really girly voice and she stuck out her hand for him to shake and then giggled. Rose however just stared at her, is this how she acted in front of men? My god she looked ridiculous!

"Would you like me to start the tour and then we can join with Spencer later?" Artie asked Rose who smiled and said "That would be lovely"

"You look so nervous"

"I am actually yeah" then she laughed which made Artie laugh too,

"There's nothing to be scared or nervous about. You've actually come on a good day"

"I have?"

"Yes everybody's in today"

"Everybody?"

"Yup, Seth, Seth, Alex, Mila, Mike, Patrick and everybody else"

"Wow that's a lot of people"

"Well they're aware that you're here so you should get some great freebies"

"I can't wait" Rose said excitedly making Artie laugh again, "So do you and Harriet want to follow me then?"

"Yeah sure" Artie smiled and then proceeded forward to show Rose and Harriet around the Family Guy studios.

* * *

"Wow that's such an amazing room," Rose said as they exited the writer's room where there was a bunch of writers sitting around typing their scripts up. "Its one of the busiest rooms in the place" Artie replied as he closed the door and smiled at Rose who had opened up a lot since the start of the tour.

"Which is the main room then?"

"Probably the gag room and the conference room which I will show you shortly" Artie replied with a smile as he headed down another corridor which lead them back into the main corridor where the lifts were. They passed the cardboard cut-outs again and Rose smiled, happy with the photos she'd taken so far. She hadn't met any of the main cast yet but that was about to change as they were all hanging around where the recording booths were.

"So what do you do in your life Rose?" Artie asked as they headed down the corridor towards the cast.

"I'm currently at University"

"Which one?"

"California State"

"Really? What do you study?"

"Film animation"

"Oh wow another little genius" Artie said with a smile getting Rose to laugh,

"I'm just a beginner that's all"

"Have you brought anything with you?"

"I have act-" she was cut off when she heard Harriet squealing next to her, "OH MY GOD IT'S MIKE HENRY AND SETH GREEN!"

"Oh man" Rose said embarrassed as Harriet almost ran over to where the main cast was waiting to record their voices for the show.

"THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Harriet squealed again getting some strange looks off the cast.

"If anybody asks, I didn't come with her" Rose mumbled, too ashamed to speak, Harriet had lied and broken her promise. She'd promised she wouldn't act like this and embarrass herself as well as everybody else, including Rose. Artie however just laughed and said, "Well I've never seen anything like this before"

"Just wait until Seth gets here," Artie laughed again and then put his hand on Rose's lower back to give her a push to walk forward but she didn't budge.

"I can't be seen with her now, she's embarrassed me"

"Don't worry about it, everybody would love to meet you and see some of your work"

Rose just exhaled deeply and said, "Fine alright then"

"At a girl" then they slowly walked over to where the main cast was, fighting laugher from Harriet's constant babbling.

"Oh my god you guys are my favourite people and I love watching the show, I've watched it for years and it's amazing and I'd love your autographs and some pictures and OH MY GOD THIS IS SOO COOL!"

Rose just sighed as Artie stepped forward and said aloud, "Guys this is Rose Daniels, she won the competition to be here today to take a tour of the studio and then she'll be at the concert tonight"

"Wait… she won the competition?" Seth Green asked quite surprised.

"Yes Seth she did" Artie replied a little worried at Seth's frown but then he grinned and got up to hug Rose, "Thank god it's you who won" Rose laughed as he hugged her and then he said "You're so normal and you don't shout and oh-" he cut himself off and hugged Rose once more.

"Thanks it's nice to meet you too, and I'd just like to apologise about _her _behaviour" Rose said and frowned as Harriet was currently bugging Mike and Patrick for autographs.

"You her friend?"

"Not anymore" the group laughed and then Artie said to Rose, "This is Seth as you now know, this here is the lovely Alex Borstein, The beautiful Mila Kunis, and over there is Mike Henry and Patrick Warburton"

"It's nice to meet all of you, I'm Rose Daniels and I'm completely sane and on the opposite end of the scale from Harriet over there" Rose got a chorus of Hello's back and Mila and Alex got up and hugged her.

"Oh wow you're like really beautiful," Mila said as she admired Rose's baby blue eyes and long hair. "Thank you, so are you" Rose replied still blushing, inside her stomach was doing summersaults but she remained calm and tried not to throw up everywhere.

"Didn't you say you had some pictures to show us of your work?" Artie said with a smirk as Rose glared at him playfully, "Oh wow sweetie you draw too?" Alex said surprised but still smiled.

"Err yes I study film animation down at California State"

"Man that's awesome; you could work here one day!" Mila said happily as she watched Rose fiddle with the sleeves of her cardigan blushing. "Why don't you show us some drawings" Artie urged her on as he watched her set her bag down on the couch and open it. She took out some folders and said, "They're probably not a very good standard compared to yours" she handed some of the folders out and they got passed around and everybody was smiling and really happy.

"Oh wow these are really good" Mike said as he managed to get away from Harriet to rejoin the group. "What is- oh that" Harriet said as she watched everybody fuss over Rose, yes she was happy for her but she was stealing all of the attention. That was until she saw Seth walking down the corridor with Kara Vallow and then everybody looked at her, "OH MY GOD IT'S SETH MACFARLANE! IT'S SETH MACFARLANE!"

"Oh man" Rose said and covered her face as Harriet went crazy and started squealing in excitement, "Rose it's Seth it's SETH!" Rose just stared wide-eyed as Seth looked over and looked just as surprised. "Seth" Artie called to him "Why don't you come over" Seth bid goodbye to Kara and then came over to join the rest of the guys. Rose continued to stare wide-eyed at Seth, whilst trying to control the nerves in her stomach, which were going crazy right now.

"Hey guys what's going on?" Seth asked with a smile as he looked around the group seeing 2 new faces. "Seth this here is Rose, she won the competition to tour the studios" Seth turned to face Rose and he had to suck in a breath, she was gorgeous! Her baby blue eyes shone brightly and he grinned as he extended his hand "Hi I'm Seth" Rose just looked at him and then shook her head and focused again, "Sorry about that, I'm Rose"

"It's lovely to meet you, congratulations on winning the competition" Rose jumped slightly when she touched his hand; they were perfect! "Thank you that means a lot" she replied and then let go of his hand seeing Seth smile widely again.

But Rose rolled her eyes when Harriet cleared her throat "This is Harriet"

"Hi! It's so awesome to meet you!" Harriet nearly squealed when Seth smiled at her and held out his hand for her to shake. "You're so awesome and amazing and I love your work, your voice is incredible and I love your music taste and just eeeepp!" then she squealed again and Rose shook her head.

"Wanna continue the tour?" Artie muttered to Rose who nodded and said "Please"

"This way, there's a lot more to see" Then Artie led Rose down the corridor towards the gag room. Harriet was too interested in blabbing away to Seth who looked slightly wide eyed and freaked out, but then saw Rose and Artie walking away and felt bad. It hadn't exactly been a good first introduction, and was there an off button on this girl?

* * *

"You okay?" Artie asked as they looked around the gag room and Rose snapped a couple more pictures. "I'm fine why?"

"No reason, you just haven't been happy since meeting Seth" Rose sighed and said, "He's my idol and I worship the ground he walks on"

"Oh"

"It was amazing meeting him but _she_ has ruined it" Rose referred Harriet as she and Artie sighed "She your friend or summat?"

"Yeah she's my best friend but sometimes she drives me up the wall"

"I've noticed"

"She promised she wouldn't act like this"

"She's just star struck"

"A pain in my ass seems to fit better" Artie smiled and then said, "Wanna go in Seth's office?"

"We can do that?"

"Sure, he's tied up with blabbermouth at the moment so whilst he's not there we can go take a look"

"Oh wow that'd be awesome"

"At least it'll cheer you up" Rose smiled and then followed Artie down some more corridors and stood outside some office booths and then he spotted Spencer, "Hey Spence"

"Oh hey man"

"Where've you been?"

"Got caught up in some crazy phone calls, more complaints about the jokes"

"Man those people are sad, anyway this is Rose"

"Oh wow you're Rose? It's awesome to meet you" Spencer got up from his chair and gave Rose a hug, "It's nice to meet you too" Rose said and then blushed slightly and Spencer smiled.

"Is anybody in Seth's office?" Artie asked and Spencer shook his head, "Nope not since he left about 10 minutes ago with Kara, have you passed him?"

"Yeah we saw him earlier" Artie said and Rose scowled.

"Uh-oh that face isn't good"

"It was a little awkward I'll admit" Rose said as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"What happened?"

"My friend Harriet decided to make a fool out of herself by screaming and squealing"

"Oh?"

"Yeah it was crazy, so I'm pretty embarrassed and didn't have time to speak to Seth properly about the things I wanted to talk about"

"What did you want to say?"

"Just talk to him about animation and how he was my inspiration to go to Uni and study animation"

"Oh wow that's really cool"

"But I guess that'll just have to wait now"

"Well to cheer you up we can go and trash Seth's office" Rose smiled and then followed Artie and Spencer down the corridor and into Seth's office. "Wow" Rose said as she looked around, the walls were covered in pictures from Family Guy and of his favourite musicals. He had everything in there you could ask for, including bottles of alcohol and his favourite Jack Daniels.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?" Artie asked as he watched Rose look around in surprise. "Yeah completely amazing" Rose sniffed the air and could smell Seth's aftershave and smiled. It was amazing to be in his office; yet disappointing she couldn't even speak to him.

"This will make you laugh" Spencer said sitting in Seth's chair by his desk, "What will?"

"Well say you're Seth and you want to shut the world out" then Spencer pushed a button on the desk and then the door closed automatically.

Rose laughed and said "Wow that's so sad"

"We had a lot of fun when that was installed" Rose laughed again and then Spencer said "Wait there's more, say the sun's getting in your eyes" then he pushed another button and the blinds closed blocking out the sunlight.

"Wow!" Rose said through laughter making Spencer and Artie laugh with her, "I don't know whether that's sad or cool"

"Completely sad" Artie said and laughed.

"He's got some awesome stuff in here," Rose said looking around at all the memorabilia Seth had collected and put on shelves, "He certainly has"

"And a great view" Rose looked out the windows and smiled at how great the view was.

"Yeah he picked a good room"

"A lot of stuff happen in here then?"

"Yeah pretty much, he's in here all the time writing new things, drawing and singing"

"He sings?"

"Yeah he uses his keyboard and creates songs for the show"

Rose just smiled and walked over to the keyboard. "This is amazing"

"You really like Seth don't you?"

"How'd you mean?"

"Like more than an idol, I can see it"

"You can?"

"Yeah it's pretty obvious"

"He's just amazing that's all, he inspired me to go to Uni and pursue my dreams"

"Didn't your parents inspire you?" Rose's face turned sour at that and Artie noticed, "Sorry if that's a sore subject"

"No it's okay"

"You sure? I'm sorry for mentioning it"

"No it's fine" Rose turned too quickly and knocked an ornament off Seth's desk "Crap" is all she said and bent down to pick it up not realising her t-shirt had risen at the back exposing her scarred back from the beatings her mama had given her. Artie and Spencer just stared in shock at all the crisscrossed scars that marked her back.

Rose stood back up and placed the Stewie figure back on the desk and turned to face the guys again. But blushed and hid when she saw their faces, they'd seen her scars.

"Rose" Artie said surprised, "What happened to you?"

"You saw them huh?"

"Yep"

"I didn't come from a very good background and had a bad upbringing"

"I'm so sorry"

"It's alright, the past is the past Artie, and you can't change it"

"But you must have gone through so much, especially for them to be so… deep" Spencer said with sympathetic eyes making Rose blush. "I'm over it now" Artie and Spencer got up and hugged her tightly, Rose squeaked out in surprise but then smiled and hugged them back. "What's left to tour?" she said cheerfully changing the subject. "The American Dad studio"

"Well let's go then"


	3. Chapter 3

Around 5pm Rose and Harriet arrived back at the Uni campus and the Limo driver said he'd be back around 8pm to pick them up for the show. Rose unlocked her door and walked inside completely ignoring Harriet, she'd completely crossed the line today and she couldn't look at her.

"Wasn't that just awesome!" Harriet said unzipping her boots smiling to herself, "Yeah, terrific" Rose grumbled back as she kicked off her sneakers and threw her cardigan on the couch.

"What's got you so snappy?" Harriet said noticing Rose's negative behaviour.

"You! That's what's wrong"

"Me? Why me?"

"You promised me you'd behave today!" Rose nearly screamed out at her friend who looked amazed, Rose rarely lost her temper and when she did she meant business. "You promised you wouldn't scream and shout and act like a psycho crazy fan! And now you've embarrassed and humiliated me in front of my idol!" Then Rose stormed into the kitchen to get some food leaving Harriet still surprised. She hadn't realised she'd gone crazy today; she thought it was fun.

"I was only having fun"

"There's a limit between fun and too much fun" Rose shot back causing Harriet to frown

"At least I'm not uptight"

"I was acting like a normal human being, you know he's my idol and I couldn't even show him my work projects because of you and your big mouth!"

"You finished the tour without me!"

"You were acting like a crazy bitch in front of Seth!"

"I'm not coming tonight!"

"I don't want you to come!" Rose shot back snatching the tickets up from the table and glaring at Harriet, "And I don't want you in my room right now so get lost!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" then Harriet stormed out and Rose kicked the door shut behind her. When she was mad she meant business and Harriet had pushed too many buttons this afternoon. Rose was supposed to be talking to her idol and discussing her work at Uni, but Harriet ruined it! She didn't even get their autographs! Tears filled Rose's eyes and she tried to wipe them away but it was no use. They just kept falling, but she had to stay strong as she still had more tonight. The show started in 3 hours and she needed to focus and relax herself before heading out the door. She couldn't care less if Harriet wasn't coming, she'd have fun on her own and get to speak to Seth this time without Harriet howling and screeching down his ear. That thought made her smile and wipe the tears away, "Better start getting ready" she said to herself as she put the tickets in a safe place before heading off to the bathroom to start getting ready for the show later tonight.

* * *

"Shoot where are my keys?" Rose said to herself as she stumbled around her room searching for her keys. She put them down somewhere and now they'd disappeared, this wasn't good timing, as the limo would be picking her up in 5 minutes.

It had taken 3 hours but she was finally ready, wearing a black knee-high dress with black strappy heels and her hair was curled and clipped back to keep it out of her face. She'd got a matching shrug to wear to hide her back, as the scars were visible. She only wore a tiny bit of make-up as she always looked much better without it, the black dress showing off her perfect tan and freshly waxed legs. Rose was feeling like royalty and felt proud of herself for dressing up so nicely.

She'd certainly calmed down since her little feud with Harriet but it was still a sore spot. "Ah-ha found them!" Rose said cheerfully as she picked her keys up off the floor and shoved them in her bag. Then she grabbed the tickets and passes and scanned the room to make sure she'd closed the windows and packed everything she needed.

Once all that was done with she opened the door to head out but jumped when she saw Harriet on the other end, "Err… hi" Harriet said awkwardly.

"And you want?" Rose replied coldly as she shut the door and headed down the corridor towards the doors to head outside, Harriet following behind.

"I just wanted to say sorry"

"Okay would that be all?"

"I shouldn't have screamed and squealed like I did, I was just star struck"

"Whatever"

"Are you even listening?"

"Nope I've got a show to get to"

"Yeah about that"

"Pfft please don't tell me you thought you were still going" Rose said stopping and turning around seeing Harriet all dressed up.

"I was actually"

"Fat chance"

"Look I know I was stupid"

"More than stupid"

"And I'm sorry for that, I love you and you're my best friend. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you, I'd still be chasing around losers for boyfriends"

"You still do that"

"But I am sorry, can you forgive me?"

"You're only saying that because you want the ticket"

"I'm not honestly I swear"

"Whatever, fine you can have it. But we're still not speaking" then Rose turned around and headed outside to the limo which had arrived earlier. Harriet followed along behind Rose, with a vicious smile on her face…

* * *

Rose and Harriet arrived at the downtown theatre and were driven to the car park to escape the crowds. The queue to get inside was reaching back miles and Rose was grateful she didn't have to wait in that. "You look gorgeous tonight Rose, that dress was a good choice" Rose just cleared her throat and shuffled along her seat when the driver opened the door for them.

"Thank you Chris" Rose said as he helped her out and smiled. "You know his name?" Harriet asked with a smirk.

"Manners will get you far Harriet" Harriet knew she was still pissed off with her because she hadn't used her nickname.

"Still pissed off huh?"

"Yep"

"I said I was sorry"

"Well you can prove that by NOT screaming if you meet Seth and cast backstage again"

"I promise I won't"

"Pfft don't make promises you can't keep" then Rose walked off whilst getting the tickets and passes out of her bag. "Gimme" Harriet said trying to snatch for the pass and ticket but Rose moved and nearly growled at her.

"Wait will ya," she snapped before walking up to the bouncers who lowered their shades and the one said, "Names?"

"Rose Daniels and the idiot known as Harriet Michaels" The bouncer checked his list and nodded when he found their names.

"Go on through, the layout is pretty simple so you'll find everybody"

"Thank you" Rose replied with a smile before heading inside. She looked around and things were pretty busy.

"Can I have my pass now?" Harriet asked and Rose glared,

"It isn't your pass and you didn't say please"

"Okay can I have a pass please?"

"That's better" then Rose handed her a pass and Harriet snatched it away and put it around her neck, "Eugh it makes me look fat" Rose just snorted and then walked off heading deeper into the crowd of people.

"Rose!" Rose turned to see Artie and Spencer standing not to far away all dressed up. "Well don't you two look handsome!"

"We could say the same about you, you look gorgeous"

"Thank you" Artie twirled her around and Rose laughed,

"You watching the show?"

"Yep front row tickets"

"Really?"

"Yeah" Spencer replied pulling out his ticket, "It's not the same watching backstage"

"Oh wow you're next to me," Rose said as she looked at their tickets and saw their seat numbers were next to her. "I know, it was me who arranged the competition," Spencer said smugly making both Artie and Rose laugh.

"We better get seated then I guess" Artie said holding out his arm for Rose to take; she smiled and accepted and linked her arm in his, then laughed when Spencer linked the other one.

"Your psycho friend not here tonight?"

"Yeah she's around somewhere"

"You fall out with her?"

"Yep"

"Ouch"

"She was being awful in the studios; she humiliated me in front of my idol!"

"Yeah that did look bad, and you left in such a rush you left your artwork there"

"Oh crap I knew I was missing something!"

"Don't worry it's safe, it's in Seth's office"

"Seth's office?" she nearly squeaked out as they walked down the steps and into the main part of the theatre. It was a huge beautiful room with the orchestra set up at the front on stage along with microphones and stools and tables for the cast.

"Yeah he found out on the couch when Harriet finally left him alone"

"Did he look at it?"

"Yeah he looked all the way through it"

"What did he think?"

"He said it was some of the best work he'd seen in a long time"

"You're kidding me right?"

"Nope he loved it, the characters, plots, storyboards and everything else"

"Oh wow that's cool"

"He thought it was Harriet's but before she said anything I said it was yours and he was amazed"

"She was gonna take credit for my work?"

"Yep"

"That bitch!"

"Easy now, remember we're in a theatre"

"Sorry" she mumbled back to Artie who said "Chin up, you've got the show to look forward to and the meeting afterwards" Rose smiled but then frowned when she heard "Excuse me! Thanks! Hey get out the way!" it was Harriet barging through the crowds to find her seat.

"Oh man"

"Want me to switch seats?" Artie asked

"Please"

"No problem" then he switched seats so Rose was in between Artie and Spencer who had both stolen her arm rests, "Oh come on you've stolen both of them!" she whined and then laughed. She was slowly starting to open up and have fun with the guys, whilst thinking about Seth. He'd actually seen her work? And liked it? Wow that was impressive!

"Show time" Spencer mumbled when the lights flickered signalling the show was soon starting. The band started playing the opening show theme and the cast came out one by one singing along and making the audience cheer loudly. Rose just stared up at Seth and blushed when he caught eyes with her and smiled as he sang. This was sure going to be an interesting night.

* * *

"Oh man that was truly amazing!" Artie said above the screams and shouts from the audience as they gave the cast a standing ovation. "I know! My ears are still ringing!" Rose replied making Artie laugh as the show finally came to a close with Seth singing "Bird Is The Word" and dancing off stage. The stage faded to black and the crowd cheered and applauded one last time before starting to file out of the building.

"That was so amazing!" Came Harriet's shrieks and cheers from the other side of Artie who frowned. "Ready for the backstage aftermath?" Spencer said to Rose who smiled.

"Yeah I can't wait"

"Good now hold onto me in case you get lost" then Rose took his hand and Artie's as they travelled through the flocks of crowds to get backstage with the use of their passes.

"Man that's crazy" Rose said as she sorted her dress out from being pushed and shoved by numerous people trying to leave the building. "Sorry, it gets like that sometimes" Artie said sorting his blazer out and then heading down the corridor to find the dressing rooms. They heard fun and laughter so they knew it was close. Spencer and Artie stood in the doorway and everybody cheered when they saw them, "Heyyy join the party!" Seth green said handing them a beer each.

"We've brought somebody along" Artie said above the noise making everybody go quieter, "Who?" Seth asked and smiled when Rose stood in the doorway looking incredibly shy and uncomfortable. "Rose!" some people shouted happily and welcome her into the group.

"The show was amazing," she said to Alex who hugged her "Thank you, I saw you front and centre with the guys"

"It was incredible I really enjoyed it"

"Well you need to thank this man" then Alex dragged Seth out from the crowd and he stood right in front of her. Wearing a gorgeous black suit showing off his chest Rose had to keep from drawling. "I loved the show it was amazing, you should be proud of yourself to get a 10 minute standing ovation, I know I was" Seth grinned at her words and said "Thank you that really means a lot, and I'm sorry we didn't get to speak before during your tour, I got caught up with things…" Seth trailed off and Rose laughed,

"Yeah I kinda noticed"

"She a friend of yours?"

"Not anymore no"

"Ouch that's a bit forward isn't it?"

"She embarrassed me in front of my idol"

"I'm your idol?" Rose realised what'd she just said and started to blush and curse herself quietly. She'd just embarrassed herself even more now. "Well I need some air"

"I'll come with you Rose" Mila said setting her drink down and walking over to Rose and linking arms with her. "See you guys in a minute" then they walked out of the room to go outside for some air.

* * *

"It was just such an amazing show" Rose said as they got outside and stood near the bouncers, but Mila's question took her by surprise. "Do you like Seth?"

"How'd you mean?"

"Like him as date material?"

"Oh… well… I don't know really. Why? Shouldn't I like him?" Rose asked quite worried but Mila laughed, "Don't worry about me babe somebody has my heart already"

Rose smiled and then said "I've always admired and respected Seth, he's been my inspiration throughout high school and university"

"I think he's diggin' ya"

"Really?"

"Yeah he was all smiles when you entered the room"

"He was smiling before though"

"Not as much as that, it looked like it was gonna reach his ears!" Mila laughed and all Rose could see was Meg. "I know I know it sounds like Meg" Mila said with a smile, "There's no history behind my voice, it's just me"

Rose laughed and said, "I love your voice"

"Thank you, I love everything about you, you're beautiful" Rose blushed and then looked down at the floor feeling slightly chilly.

"Ready to head back inside? I can see you shivering" Mila said with a smile.

"Yeah lets head back in" Mila led the way back in the building and then said "I just need to head somewhere but the dressing room is right back down there"

"Okay thanks"

"I'll be back in a minute so don't miss me too much" Rose smiled and then headed back down the corridor to find the gang again. But stopped outside one room when she heard a familiar deep voice, "So what can I do for you Harriet?"

"I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier today, it was embarrassing and I wish it never happened"

"Well I appreciate your honesty"

"Can you forgive me?"

"Of course, I'm not a man to hold grudges"

"Great" Harriet laughed then and Rose knew she'd be twirling her hair and batting her eyelashes right about now.

"Great show tonight by the way"

"Thanks"

"The music was perfect"

"Well Walter does bring out perfection"

"Yeah totally! And you look gorgeous tonight"

"Thank you, your dress is amazing as well, you look beautiful" Harriet giggled then and Rose frowned, not liking where this was going. "You doing anything after the show tonight?" Harriet asked Seth who replied, "Yeah we're all heading out for drinks down at the Brass Monkey"

"What's that?"

"A karaoke bar"

"Ohh awesome"

"It's always been a favourite of mine"

"Interesting"

"Maybe I could get you up on that stage" Harriet giggled and then said "There are plenty of other things I'd rather you do" Rose heard Seth laugh and then felt her heart rip in two, he wasn't going to... surely…

"Maybe we can test that out later after a couple of drinks"

"Are you asking me out Mr MacFarlane?" Rose heard Harriet say seductively to Seth who actually agreed! What?!

"Yeah I am actually"

"Well I'm gladly accepting"

"Excellent we just need to round the gang up and get moving"

"I can't wait"

Rose had heard enough, she quietly walked away from the room and headed down a corridor not remembering where to go. Her eyes were clouded with tears so everything was just a blur right now. But she recognised the voice behind her, "Rose? Rose what's wrong?" she turned around after wiping the tears away and saw Alex, "Hey" she said quietly and Alex instantly knew there was something wrong.

"You alright?"

"Fine why'd you ask?"

"Because you're sad and you've smudged your eyeliner by crying"

"Honestly I'm alright" Alex still looked sceptical but couldn't say anything as the whole gang had arrived behind her. "So we all ready to go?" Seth asked the group getting a chorus of replies back, "Right lets head out"

"Rose? Honey you coming?" Alex asked rubbing Rose's arm out of sympathy, "No I'm gonna pass" Rose replied hearing some people groan, "Rose you've gotta come!" Artie replied but Rose shook her head, "Honestly I can't I've gotta get back, I'm tired and I've got assignments that need my attention"

"You'll have to swing by tomorrow maybe and pick your artwork up" Spencer said with a small smile,

"Shoot I forgot about that, err yeah that sounds great"

"Great, well I'm there all day so just swing by whenever"

"Okay then, well it's been a lovely evening but I will bid thee a goodbye for now"

"You sure you won't come?" Alex asked slightly disappointed, "Yeah we were gonna embarrass Seth on karaoke, show him how the girls do it" Mila said with a wink making Rose smile but not look at Seth. Harriet was practically hanging off his arm and she was still feeling her heart shatter to pieces.

"I'm sure"

"Well we'll walk you to your limo" Alex said taking Rose by the hand and leading her through the gang once she'd bid them all goodbye. "Man I really thought she'd come" Artie said disappointed getting Spencer to agree with him. "Enough about her, let's party!" Harriet screeched as they all headed down the corridor towards the exit where the limos were waiting to take them all to the brass monkey.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright?" Alex asked Rose when she noticed how quiet she'd gone since the show ended.

"I'm fine"

"Have you heard or seen something you don't like?"

"No really I'm okay"

"It wouldn't have anything to do with Seth would it?"

"No" Rose lied and Alex could tell.

"I think it has"

"There's nothing to be upset about, just me being silly as usual"

"She's all wrong for him" Alex assured her making her smile slightly,

"She's got a boyfriend anyway"

"Ohh one of _those_ girls is she?"

"Yep"

"I hate women like that, why can't they just stick to one man?"

"Harriet goes out with a man nearly every day of the week"

"Seth will come to his senses soon sweetie don't worry"

"I'm not worrying, I don't care for the things she gets up to, she's been this way for years"

"Well she'll learn her lesson soon don't worry"

"Anyway I'm heading off now so I guess I'll see you round some time"

"Oh don't worry I plan on seeing you again"

"You do?"

"Yeah you're lovely and Mila loves you too"

"Well I've got swing by tomorrow to collect my artwork"

"I saw that, it was amazing"

"Thank you"

"And we've signed them too"

"You have?"

"Yeah when Harriet finally walked off and gave Seth some space, he signed all of your things"

"That's nice of him, I wish I could have gotten some photos with you guys but she just ruined it all" Rose felt her temper rising again, she did actually hate Harriet for that.

"Don't worry we can arrange something tomorrow and have some fun"

"You'd do that Alex? For me?"

"Of course I will. That wasn't fair on you. It was you that won the damn competition!"

"I know but she gets like that sometimes"

"Do you know what I see when she looks at you?"

"No"

"Jealously"

"What?"

"Yeah it's clear to me"

"How do you know all these things?"

"I'm old and wise"

"Which meant you were young and crazy"

"Exactly. I was never thin when I was younger so I always made fun of myself to get it out the way, people were jealous of me because I was happy with myself and I had the ability to make everybody laugh and make friends"

"So how does that fit in with Harriet being jealous of me?"

"You haven't screwed your life up; you're doing something you love. You're beautiful, smart, funny and charming. You've charmed a lot of the guys today"

"I have?"

"Honey you must walk around with your eyes closed"

"I'm just not used to guys paying me attention"

"How come?"

"They always preferred Harriet"

"Pfft then they're obviously not worth it"

"I hate the way she cakes herself in make-up"

"I must admit she does look like a clown"

"So why do guys like that sort of stuff?"

"It's because they know she's easy and will open her legs at the drop of a hat"

"Wow you've basically figured her out already"

"It's just a gift"

"So why does Seth want her?"

"Easy… he just wants to get laid"

"Is that the type of guy he is?"

"Not really but he can vary sometimes, he's only 30 and he's bordering on the settling down phase so he's just freaking out and humping everything he can"

"What like a dog?" Rose giggled and felt herself blushing listening to Alex about Seth's sex life.

"You seem shy about Sex" Alex suddenly mentioned making Rose look at her,

"Well I err… haven't really had… any sort of…"

"Ohhh I get ya"

"Is that bad?"

"Nope I think it's a respectable thing"

"You do?"

"Yeah you haven't fell into the trap of being used"

"I don't think any guy wants me"

"I think you've got Artie's attention"

"He's pretty cute I guess" Alex smiled but then turned her attention to Seth Green when he shouted from across the lot "Alex get a move on!"

"Right that's my cue to go"

"Okay, well it was nice chatting with you"

"Yeah we'll have to continue it tomorrow when we see each other"

"I look forward to it" Rose said with a smile as Alex pulled her into a hug. "You take care now and I'll see you tomorrow"

"Bye Alex" Alex smiled as Rose shut the limo door and it drove out of the parking lot to take Rose home. Alex sighed and then headed back over to the gang, Rose was a lovely young woman and Alex could see she was falling head over heels for Seth, but was he worth it?

* * *

Rose was sitting on her couch in her room trying to fight tears; her night had certainly been emotional. She was angry and sad at the same time, and all it was causing was frustration and rage. Harriet had completely betrayed Rose by going out with Seth. She knew about Rose's love and respect for Seth, yet she went behind her back and went on a date with him. The other students in her classes were right when they called her a cheap, easy no good slut. She'd certainly lived up to that reputation tonight by hurting her supposed best friend.

"I should have known you weren't worth it" Rose mumbled to herself as she pulled off her shrug and threw it on the couch. "When others left you in a state 2 years ago I should have just walked on by" Rose got up from the couch after taking her heels off and ventured into her kitchen. She'd been saving a bottle of wine in her fridge for few days now, and tonight was the perfect excuse to drown her sorrows. So she unscrewed the cap and instead of getting a glass, she just drank straight from the bottle. The wine burned down her throat and she almost choked, she hadn't drank in years so it was a shock to her system. But it felt good so she continued drinking, hoping it'd take away the memories of tonight, seeing Seth and Harriet together made her angry.

"She shouldn't be with you" Rose mumbled as she carried the wine back into the living room and plopped down on the couch. She drank and drank and drank until the bottle was almost empty; it made her feel good and a lot happier.

"I don't need anybody" she slurred out then hiccupped and giggled. "I only need myself and that's all that counts, screw them all!" then she giggled to herself again, feeling a lot happier. The alcohol made her forget about the pain of seeing her idol walk around with some no good slut.

"I don't need anyone…" Rose mumbled to herself as she felt her eyes drooping and she soon fell to sleep on the couch, the bottle of wine still in her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose awoke next morning to constant hammering on her door, she groaned as she sat up and held her head. "What the hell happened last night?" she mumbled to herself as she looked around her room, nothing was trashed or broken so it couldn't have been a house party. As she got off the couch she heard clinking of a bottle so she looked down and saw an empty bottle of wine on the floor.

"I drank all this?" she mumbled as she picked the bottle up and walked over to the door, she was gonna knock this person out if they didn't stop the hammering. She opened the door and groaned when she saw who it was, "Good morning!" Came Harriet's sickly sweet voice.

"Meh" was Rose's response as she walked away from the door and back into the living room to sit down again.

"What the hell happened here last night?" Harriet asked as she closed the door and went into the living room where Rose was sitting with her head in her hands.

"Can't remember" Rose mumbled back making Harriet look at her,

"Party for one I take it?"

"Something like that" Rose replied as she dropped the bottle on the floor and winced at the noise.

"You look rough"

"Thanks"

"I'm just sayin' is all"

"Well don't alright"

"Where did you go last night? Why wouldn't you come out?"

"I can't remember what happened last night"

"You drink that much?"

"Think so"

"Jeez" Rose just looked at Harriet confused, did something happen last night between them? Because Rose had got the serious feeling of hatred whenever she glanced at Harriet, who was playing with her hair in her compact mirror.

"So aren't you gonna ask me about last night?"

"Just let me get my bearings" Rose mumbled back as she held her stomach trying to calm the queasiness. "It was just amazing!" Harriet nearly squealed making Rose wince and hiss at Harriet.

"Don't do that" she nearly snarled,

"Well sorry!"

"You should be"

"You're cranky when you're hungover"

"No shit"

"Anyway last night was amazing, we all went to the brass monkey bar thingy and it was awesome. Seth sang loads of songs and even dedicated one to me"

"Seth?"

"Yeah dummy Seth, the one you idolise" Rose suddenly had a flashback of the events that had taken place last night and suddenly felt angry. But she bit her tongue and remained calm whilst trying not to vomit on the floor.

"Oh" is all she said before quickly closing her mouth.

"Yeah he's just amazing, he's got such a wonderful voice and he did Peter and Stewie impressions all night for me, and he brought me loads of drinks and then we ended up in-" Harriet cut herself off and then looked down at the floor blushing.

"Ended up in…?" Rose tried to prompt her to talk and then Harriet grinned.

"We ended up fooling around in the limo!"

"What?"

"Yeah everybody else was still inside so we sneaked out and went into the limo and fooled around"

"Define fooled around for me"

"Basically had sex"

"Oh" Rose felt her heart aching now, he'd had sex with her? What was he thinking?! "Wh-what about you and Josh?"

"Eugh totally over"

"But you were so happy with him"

"I was but decided to move on"

"Have you told him?"

"We weren't official or anything"

"You've still gotta tell him"

"And why's that?"

"Because he'll think you're just stringing him along and that's not a nice thing to do"

"Jeez sorry lady nun"

"That's not funny Harriet"

"Okay I'm sorry I didn't mean it" Rose just sighed and said, "So, so what's it like with… Seth?"

"You mean the sex?"

"Yes"

"Amazing! He's so caring and… how do I put it… big… VERY big"

"What do you mean big?"

"I've got so much to teach you honeybee, he's got a very big… what's the word…"

"You can say it I'm not afraid"

"A huge cock! Oh my god it was amazing! I almost had an orgasm straight away"

"Maybe a bit too much info there Haz"

"Well you asked" Rose tried to stop the blush from forming on her cheeks, she had never really thought about Seth like that. She knew he had a crazy and wild sex life, but she'd never thought about it properly until now. "And oh my god he sounds just like Brian when he moans" Rose just looked at Harriet who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Well Brian is his real voice"

"I know but when he's panting and breathing down your ear it's incredible"

Rose felt uncomfortable now as well as angry. Why did Harriet manage to get him and she couldn't? Then she remembered Alex's words… she was easy.

"So are you seeing him again soon?"

"Yeah we arranged to meet up again soon, why?"

"Just wondering" Rose just looked down at the floor and Harriet sighed, "Look sweetie I know he's your idol and you adore him" Rose looked up from the floor and stared at Harriet, was she trying to be reasonable and acknowledge her feelings? "But I guess fate just had other plans and wanted me to have him not you"

Maybe not…

Rose just cleared her throat and tried to control the anger… oh yeah… their friendship was DEFINITELY over now.

"Anyway honeybee I better get moving, need to bathe and get rid of this ache if you know what I mean" Rose tried to force a smile but couldn't really get one out. She was too pissed off with everything. "Later Honeybee" Harriet called before slamming the door shut leaving Rose alone in her room. Now they were sleeping together? And forming a relationship?! This couldn't be happening!

"Why me?" Rose said angrily to herself, "Why? Why do I always get screwed over by people!" then she got up and threw the empty wine bottle at the wall, it exploded and shards of glass flew everywhere. But Rose didn't care about that, she was so angry with Harriet that if she saw her now she'd kill her.

"I hate you!" Rose screamed out loudly before collapsing onto the couch in floods of tears.

* * *

"Heyy you're back" Rose smiled at Trisha who was sitting behind her desk in FOX studios.

"Hey Trisha"

"I was told you were coming by today"

"Yeah I forgot something yesterday I was in such a rush"

"Well I can take you up there and then you can wander around looking for Spencer"

"Is he in today, I know it's Saturday"

"Yes of course he's in"

"Good"

"Just follow me Rose" Rose smiled and followed Trisha to the elevators.

"Your friend not with you today then?"

"Eugh no"

"I must say… that was… definitely something yesterday"

"You're telling me"

"She's energetic I'll give you that"

"She's nothing" Rose said coldly making Trisha just stare at her in surprise.

"Wow she must have pissed you off"

"Has somebody ever embarrassed you in front of your idol by screaming and shouting?"

"No I must say that's never happened to me before"

"Trust me you don't want it to happen" Trisha smiled and when the doors pinged open she said "Well I'll leave you now, it was lovely seeing you again"

"Yeah you too" Rose smiled at Trisha before wondering off down the corridor towards the front desk in the studios.

"Hey stranger" Came a voice that made her smile; it was Artie approaching with drinks in hand. "Hey you" Rose replied cheerily making Artie smile.

"Decided to drop by then?"

"Of course"

"Is it just to collect your artwork or to see me?"

"Hmm well I'd have to say my artwork was more important" she laughed when Artie scowled playfully and then smiled.

"Fine I'm not giving you your drink then"

"I don't want it anyway"

Artie smiled and said "I moved your artwork out of Seth's office"

"Oh, where is it now?"

"In the gag room which is where I was heading too actually"

"I see"

"Wanna come along?"

"Do you think they'd let me in there?"

"Yeah of course"

Rose smiled then and said "Alright then"

"Follow me then" Rose then followed Artie down the long hallways to the gag room.

"Is Seth in there?" Rose asked making Artie look at her,

"Nope he's working in his office"

"Oh good"

"Why?"

"No reason" Artie could sense something was wrong but didn't say anything. Instead he just opened the door to the gag room making everybody look up. "Hey Artie" Danny said and everybody else greeted him. "Hey guys, I brought a friend along with me" then Artie moved aside and Rose walked through shyly looking at the floor. "Yayy!" Came a female voice and Rose looked up to see Alex sitting in one of the chairs with a pen and pad in her lap. Rose grinned and went over to Alex when she signalled for her to come and sit down.

"I was hoping you'd swing by"

"Well I always keep my promises" Alex smiled and then said "Feel like helping us out with some gags and jokes for the show?"

"Sure I'll do my best"

"Great" Rose made herself comfortable and watched the group interact with each other, they were talking and laughing discussing jokes they thought were funny enough to be put in the script for the next show. Rose thought it was amazing, she felt like she belonged with these people and soon found herself adding in comments and coming up with jokes of her own.

* * *

"I'm serious that's really funny" Danny said as he calmed himself down from laughing so much. The morning progressed into late afternoon and everybody was still having fun and laughing. "It's not that great" Rose said and then grinned as Danny giggled. "It is, I can just picture her getting every cleaning appliance out to clean up the tiny stain" Rose just shook her head and smiled at Danny's laughter. She'd told him about her Auntie having a serious cleaning problem, everything had to be spotless in her house and if you told her she'd missed a spot, she'd go crazy and start cleaning like a crazy woman. It was funny to watch but she didn't know it'd be so popular that they'd want to use it as a joke in the show.

"You've got a talent for this stuff," Alex said with a smile making Rose blush slightly.

"You think so?"

"You've certainly got the brains to run your own cartoon, I'd certainly watch it if it went on air" Rose smiled again but then looked up along with everybody else when the door suddenly flew open.

"Afternoon Seth" Alex said cheerfully and Seth looked over at her and smiled. "Afternoon Alex, guys" he nodded to the whole group but then spotted Rose. "Rose" he said quite surprised.

"Afternoon Mr MacFarlane" she said politely making him smile. "Please call me Seth" Rose just smiled and then looked back down at her note pad, where Alex had drew hearts around Seth's name. She heard Alex sniggering beside her so she elbowed her making Alex cough to hide her laughter.

"Something wrong Alex?" Seth asked noticing her strange behaviour and Rose blushing whilst scribbling something out on her notepad. "No we're okay Seth" Alex replied after calming herself down.

"What was with the whole bursting through the door scene? The building on fire or something?"

"No I just pushed the door with too much force"

"Remember it's not automated like your one" Danny said making Seth glare at him, "And the blinds have to closed by hand if the sun's in your eyes" the group sniggered but Seth continue to smile, "How's your paycheque every month Danny?"

"Fine" Danny mumbled suddenly falling quiet making Rose smirk but hid it when Seth looked in her direction.

"What brings you here today Rose?"

"Oh err I just came to pick my artwork up and then Artie asked me if I'd like to hang out for a while, but I'll go if I've outstayed my welcome"

"No it's alright, no worries there"

"Are you sure"

"Absolutely" Rose smiled but then said "I've gotta shoot off soon anyway to get to work"

"Where'd you work?" Alex asked curiously and Rose smiled and said "Just a local restaurant near the Uni"

"Would that be Trudy's restaurant and bar?"

"Yeah how'd you know?"

"It's one of our favourite bars to hang out in," Alex said with a smile making Rose quite surprised.

"Wonder why we've never seen you in there before"

"I mostly work around the bar and sometimes serve food but the bar is my main station"

Alex smiled again and said "I'll have to pay you a visit tonight then" Rose smiled but then said "Well I better shoot off, start to get ready for my shift"

"Okay I'll walk you out," Seth said before anybody else could respond. Rose was surprised but then bid everybody goodbye before heading out of the gag room with her artwork clutched under her arm.

Seth led rose down the corridors and then said "I'm glad I caught you on your own"

"You are?" Rose squeaked out quite nervous as she realised she was alone with Seth for the first time.

"Yes I am... I was quite upset I couldn't speak to you yesterday"

"You were?"

"You did win the competition and I was interested in meeting you, but things got in the way"

"I know" Rose said coldly and then scowled causing Seth to turn around and stare at her.

"I'm sorry it upset you, it was something I never planned"

"I understand, sometimes things get in the way"

"I loved your artwork and again I apologise for not getting a chance to look at it with you"

"It's alright; it's lovely to hear that you like it"

"I do it's incredible, how you've sketched every little detail, it plays smoothly on the paper and the story is amazing"

"Wow that means a lot to me, thank you so much"

"No problem" Rose smiled at him feeling a lot happier but then remembered he was dating Harriet so she looked away and stared at the floor.

"I'm sorry you couldn't come out last night, I felt awful"

"Don't worry it was my decision to not come out"

"I still felt bad"

"I'm sure you had fun though" Rose almost glared at him but had to remain calm and pretend she didn't know anything about him and Harriet sleeping together.

"Yeah it was… Interesting" Seth replied as he rubbed his chin and Rose just looked at him, "I'm sure Harriet had fun"

"Yeah she sure did"

"You don't sound too happy with that comment"

"I don't know what to be happy about anymore Rose"

"Lots of things, your show, your wealth and how respected and loved you are... you should be proud of yourself and happy" Seth smiled and then said "You always have such sweet things to say" Rose blushed and felt herself falling deeper for this man, but then remembered he was with Harriet and she cleared her throat, "I best take off"

"Right… okay if you have too"

"Can't be late for work"

"Wait I have something for you" Then Seth walked off quickly and Rose just stared at him, "What?" she mumbled to herself as she saw him quickly go into the conference room. He came out shortly afterwards carrying a bag, which looked extremely full, "This is for you" he said holding out the bag for Rose to take. She reached out and took it but her fingers brushed against his making her jump slightly. But then she remembered he'd touched Harriet with them and pulled away quickly like he was diseased, which he probably was after touching that dirty slut. All of the things Harriet had said to Rose suddenly started creeping into her head and she suddenly had to get away from him. It was too hard being around him knowing he was secretly screwing Harriet.

"Are you alright?" Seth asked noticing Rose looked confused and upset.

"I've gotta get outta here" she whispered trying to fight back tears.

"Have I said something wrong?"

"No I ju- I gotta get outta here, but thank you for the lovely gifts, I'll cherish them forever" then she smiled a weak smile before sighing and heading towards the elevators leaving Seth awfully confused.

* * *

It reached 8pm and Rose was working down at the restaurant, it was pretty busy so all the waiters and waitresses were too busy to talk. Rose was on bar duty and having some fun mixing drinks and interacting with the customers. She'd soon cheered up since the whole incident with Seth and she was trying to put it behind her. But Harriet kept calling her saying Seth had phoned her to arrange another date. It was bugging the hell out of her, but she had to pretend to be happy for Harriet, even though what she'd said earlier hurt like hell.

_"But I guess fate just had other plans and wanted me to have him not you" _her words still ran through Rose's head and she couldn't get rid of them. They stung and hit home hard, making her feel like no man could love her, especially somebody as wonderful as Seth.

"Rose please focus" Came a voice from behind her making her jump and turn around, "Oh sorry Scott" it was her duty manager.

"You've been awfully distant lately, is everything okay?"

"Yep as far as I'm aware"

Scott smiled and said "We might need to put you on waitress duty a little later"

"Okay that sounds fine"

"There's a big crowd of people coming and Michelle and Andrea are tied up in orders already so we're relying on your support sweetie"

"No problems Scott I'll do my best" Scott smiled and then walked off to serve more customers. There was a big party of people coming tonight? Hmm she wondered who that could be...

* * *

"Do we really have to come here?" Seth said as they got out of the limo and stood outside the restaurant.

"Yes Seth we do, to celebrate our success last night" Alex replied straightening her dress out and smiling.

"Yes but why here?"

"Because the food is excellent and they have good service" Seth just sighed and then felt somebody take his hand,

"Rose works here" Harriet said as she looked at Seth, "I know, she told me"

"You've spoken to her?"

"Yeah she came by the studios earlier today"

"Oh"

"Why?"

"Nothing"

"She just came by to get her artwork" Alex replied curtly as she looked Harriet up and down. She was wearing the shortest dress and completely caked in make-up again, what Seth saw in her would forever be a mystery. "Let's go inside and say hi to Rose" Harriet said tugging Seth's hand as she led him into the crowded restaurant. They were a pretty big crowd and the _Maître D_ showed them to their table, which Alex had reserved earlier.

"Wow this is nice" Mila said sitting herself down next to Mike and Seth Green.

"Rose really works here?"

"It was just a temp job but they loved her so much they made her permanent" Harriet replied and then rolled her eyes making Alex frown; she was full of pure jealously.

"So how did you two actually meet then?" Alex said with a small smirk, she was going to bug this girl all night for revenge.

"It's such a long story" Harriet replied.

"We've got all night sweetie"

"Well I first met Rose in Uni, she was pretty much the loner around the place and the dork, so I showed her around and we got to know each other. She was pretty much a nervous wreck most of the time"

"Why's that?"

"Because of her past"

"What happened?" Artie realised what Harriet was about to tell the whole group about Rose being beaten so he tried to change the subject.

"Guys can we talk about something else?"

"No I wanna tell it!" Harriet said hotly making Artie just look at her, Rose had told her some personal secrets and now she was going to expose them to 20 people she barely knew. "Rose had a pretty bad upbringing, her dad left when she was young and from then on her 'mama' as she calls her, beat her every night with a belt"

Seth spat his drink out in surprise and said "What?"

"Yeah she beat her, blaming her for the divorce"

"But you say it like you don't care" Mike said with disgust in his voice.

"It's her past, I wasn't there to help"

"But she's your best friend, you should at least care" Harriet just shrugged and then drank some of her water leaving some of the table stunned, including Seth. She was such a sweet young woman, how could someone treat her like that?

"She's got all these nasty horrid scars on her back too, they're gross" Harriet said and then laughed, "My skin's completely smooth yet she's got crisscrossed scars and everything"

"I've heard enough" Alex said getting up from the table and heading over to the bar. Harriet was a complete bitch and she couldn't believe Seth wanted to date her!

* * *

Rose watched from the bar as the cast of Family Guy walked through the door, "Oh crap" is all she whispered as she saw Seth with Harriet wrapped around him. Just perfect, this was all she needed! She watched them all sit down and get comfortable and felt like throwing her shoe over at Harriet and knocking her out. She was trying to be the centre of attention as usual but was just making a fool out of herself. But something didn't seem right; the group seemed stunned by something. And it was even more confusing when Alex suddenly got up and headed over to the bar area.

"Alex" Rose called softly making Alex look at her and smile.

"Hey Rose"

"You alright?"

"No not really"

"Why? What's happened?" Alex looked hesitant at first and Rose frowned, "What's Harriet said now?"

"She's erm… told us about your…" Alex trailed off and Rose just stared at her with wide-eyed.

"She didn't, she can't have"

"She did"

"But she promised she'd keep it a secret" Rose felt her temper rising, this was the final straw.

"Rose" Alex said cautiously as she noticed Rose going red with anger, "Don't do anything you'll regret"

"I'm not"

"Good cause I won't allow you to lose your job over her"

"I just can't believe she's telling everybody"

"It sounded… brutal"

"It was" Rose said in a small voice feeling uncomfortable and angry at the same time. Harriet was dead when she got hold of her. "Rose, can you please wait on that table?" Scott said coming up to Rose whilst she was making a drink up for Alex.

"Yes Scott" she replied with a fake smile plastered on her face making Alex laugh slightly, "I'll walk you over"

"Show time" Rose mumbled to herself as she came from behind the bar and picked up her notepad and pen to write down their orders. It was going to be a long evening.

* * *

"Thank heavens that's over" Rose said to herself as she undid her shirt after shutting her door and switching the lights on. It was past midnight and she was shattered, waiting on tables sure did wear you out! She'd been busy waiting on Seth's party all night, bringing food and drink over to them whenever they asked for it. She'd managed to speak to Artie and he'd given her his cell phone number so they could keep in touch. Rose appreciated his kindness and was glad she could stay in touch with him, as they'd grown quite close.

The one thing that bugged her tonight was Harriet, she'd completely crossed the line tonight by telling everybody about Rose's past. It was something she wanted to be kept private and not blurted out to famous people. Seth kept giving her sympathetic looks all night and was driving her crazy!

"I don't need your looks Seth I need you" Rose mumbled to herself as she clambered into her bedroom to change into her pyjamas. She was tired and didn't want any disturbances from anybody, especially Harriet.

Ever since dating Seth she'd gone completely crazy and forgotten who her best friend was. She had a huge head and only thought about herself. She hadn't exactly made Rose's job easy tonight as she kept sending back her food, she was lucky Rose didn't pour it all over her head. Scott kept a close eye on her whenever Harriet sent the food back; he was beginning to think Rose was doing it on purpose. If she got fired from this job because of Harriet she'd kill her and bury the evidence.

Everything was becoming much more difficult since meeting Seth yesterday, maybe winning that competition wasn't a good idea after all. It hadn't changed her life for the better; it had made it worse. Rose just sighed as she snuggled down deeper into her bed and closed her eyes. But all she could see was Harriet wrapped around Seth talking and laughing with him. He looked happy around her, surely that wasn't right?

"Gotta move on," Rose mumbled to herself as sleep overtook and she was soon off in a dream filled sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a week since Rose had won the Family Guy competition and her life had certainly changed since then. She'd met some amazing people, including her idol and now secretly hated her best friend. Things seemed to be going well at work and now she felt more confident in her classes at Uni. Since talking to Artie, Rose felt happier as he accepted her for who she was. They'd been talking throughout the past week and had been growing quite close, and Rose felt comfortable with that. They'd arranged to meet up for dinner and a drink, which Rose was looking forward to.

But although she was getting closer to Artie, she still felt bad because she'd always been crushing on Seth. He'd been her idol and inspiration for years and now it didn't feel right to be with anybody else.

"Yeah but what about everything that's happened within this past week" Rose said to herself as she set her book down and stared blankly at the wall. "My best friend treated me like crap and my idol is now screwing it" Rose frowned at that as it was all true. She was still upset that Harriet had betrayed her by showing them up at the studios, trying to take control of everything and now stealing Seth away. It wasn't fair at all and it still made Rose feel angry deep inside.

"Calm relaxing breaths" Rose mumbled to herself as she inhaled and exhaled deeply to banish all anger. Granted she had every right to be angry and hate Harriet's guts, but why waste time on a no good whore anyway?

Rose smiled to herself as she turned the page in her book and settled herself back down to drift off into fantasies and dreams, but groaned in frustration when somebody knocked her door.

"Rosie you in there? It's me!"

"Damn bitch" Rose grumbled as she hated hearing Harriet's sickly sweet voice. "Coming" Rose tried to say cheerfully as she walked towards the door and opened it. Harriet just barged straight past Rose and flopped down on the couch, "Come in why don't you"

"I already am in dummy" Harriet replied sweetly, she had the nerve to act all innocent? Not realising she'd broken her best friends heart?

Damn bitch!

"What can I do for you Harriet?" Rose asked as she picked up her book from the floor after Harriet knocked it off the couch. She set it back down on the shelf and then stared at Harriet who again, was checking herself out in her compact mirror.

"I was thinking we could hang out"

"I've been up to my eyes in assignments and I need to get them all finished"

"Oh please, honeybee you can at least take one day away from it, especially to see your best friend" The words 'best friend' made Rose frown deeply, they didn't mean a thing to her anymore. Harriet had never been a best friend to her and never would be.

"They really need my attention"

"Oh come on, I haven't seen you all week"

"That's because you haven't bothered to come round like you usually do"

"Well I've just been busy with Seth"

"Exactly"

"He's so charming and we're really hitting it off" And here we go… another lecture on how 'great' her relationship was with Seth.

"Well, I'm… happy for you" Rose managed to get out whilst gritting her teeth.

"He's just amazing, but he's always got a busy schedule and so many people follow him around"

"He _is_ famous remember"

"Yeah I know that, but people are always asking for autographs off him and taking pictures"

"That's the price you pay for being famous"

"Well nobody ever asks about me!"

"How'd you mean?"

"Sometimes paparazzi follow him around, not once asking who I am, I deserve some attention too!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going out with him, he's _my_ boyfriend"

"But he's not _your_ property; he's a free man and can do whatever he wants"

"Why aren't you agreeing with me like you normally do?"

"Because you're wrong, Seth may be your boyfriend yes, but he's not your property"

"But I hate the way people follow him round taking pictures"

"I guess he's used to it by now"

"Well I hate it; I think I might say something to him"

"Why? Harriet he can't stop people following him it's just how it goes"

"Oh"

"Yeah so don't say anything other the paparazzi will go crazy about you"

"Oh my god really!?"

"Yeah but not in a good way though, you'll get slaughtered and slagged off"

"Oh well, at least I'll get my gorgeous face in the papers and magazines!" Rose just shook her head and headed into the kitchen to get a drink.

"Get me a drink will ya babe?" came Harriet's voice making Rose clench her fists in anger. "Would you like it poured on your head?" Rose mumbled quietly as she poured herself some soda and then put it back in the fridge.

"So where do you wanna go?" Harriet asked once Rose had come back into the living room and sat on her beanbag. "Aren't you seeing Seth today?"

"Eugh no, the stupid man has gotta go to a meeting"

"Why is that stupid?"

"Because he never has time for me, he's always in his office drawing, or sorting out paperwork, or recording voices or in with the writers"

"It's his job, that's just what he has to do"

"Do you even care about me Rose?"

"I just think you're being stupid about all of this, he works 7 days a week doing what he loves"

"But I should come first"

"Why?"

"Because I'm his girlfriend!"

"Has he even said that you're official yet?"

"No but I've said we are"

"You've been dating for a week"

"And we've slept together all week so I say we're official" Rose just shook her head and nursed her soda in her glass, "Anyway I don't want to see him tonight, he's acting strange"

"What do you mean strange?"

"Just being moody and he keeps mentioning you" Rose nearly dropped her glass when Harriet said that.

"He's what?"

"Let's go get our nails done!" Harriet suddenly said making Rose frown; she wanted to know what Seth had been saying. But Harriet being typical and selfish, she wouldn't talk about anybody but herself.

"You said Seth mentioned me?" Rose tried to get her to spill it but Harriet was too interested in herself.

"Yeah, anyway come on let's head out"

She was impossible!

"I've gotta get myself ready" Rose said as she got out of her seat and put her drink on the table, but Harriet reached over and snatched it for herself. "For what?"

"I'm meeting Artie soon"

"Who's Artie?"

"He's Seth's assistant at work"

"Oh"

"He showed us around on the tour last week"

"Don't remember him, I just saw Seth and that was it"

Rose just rolled her eyes and said "Well he's picking me up around 4ish so I've gotta get ready"

"But it's only 1pm now"

"So?"

"So we should go and get ourselves pampered up!"

"Why we?"

"So we're ready for tonight"

"Harriet this is a date for me and Artie, nobody else"

"Oh"

"Yeah so, you know…"

"Fine I'll just sit inside my room, all alone because you're being selfish" Harriet tried to act funny but Rose just frowned, _she_ was being selfish? She was far from it!

"I like him Harriet so we're just hanging out"

"Fine, I understand"

"Harriet I don't pester you when you're with Seth"

"I know"

"So why on earth do you want to be with me when I'm with Artie?"

"For help and support"

"I'm quite capable of going out with a friend by myself, even if it is a guy"

"You're not dating him then?"

"No we're just friends"

"What is it with you just wanting to be friends with people?"

"I just haven't found the right person yet"

"Well I'm sure he'll come round soon enough" Rose just wanted to punch Harriet in the face; she was actually trying to give her relationship advice? What did she know about relationships?!

"Soon you'll be happy like me and Seth"

"Yeah… let's hope"

"I mean look at everything we've been through"

"Harriet I am going to remind you that you've been dating him for a week, and you didn't have to go through anything to get him"

Apart from breaking her best friends heart!

"I know that honeybee, but you liked him and I thought about that for a while" Rose felt herself growling under her breath but remained quiet listening to Harriet's 'touching' speech. "But then I realised I can't hold myself back for someone else's silly crush so I went for it and I'm glad I did" Rose just stared at the wall seeing red, it seemed Harriet was totally heartless and just plain selfish. "Anyway I'm gonna head off now, get my nails done on my own seeming as you're not coming" Harriet said getting up off the couch and heading towards the door not even saying goodbye. She just headed out the door and left Rose still staring at the wall trying to calm herself down. How could anybody be that selfish?! What is wrong with people these days?!

* * *

It was reaching 3pm when Rose finally cheered herself up by listening to some music and dancing around her room. She felt free and happy so she was dancing like a fool as she was washing up her plates and glasses in the kitchen. Artie had called her to say he was running late at the studios so he'd swing by around 6pm to pick her up for dinner. Rose didn't mind though, as he sounded upset on the phone so he wasn't making it up or lying.

Rose continued to smile as she danced around listening to some of her favourite songs on her computer. If she didn't run any other programmes, her iTunes would play properly without any problems. But if she tried to be daring and run 2 programmes, her computer would die on her… stupid piece of crap.

"_Just like driving on an open highway, never knowing what we're gonna find" _

Rose sang along loudly as she danced around putting the dishes away in the cupboard. She loved Lady Antebellum so she always sang along and played them loudly every time. Playing music always brought out Rose's colourful and happy side so she listened to it as much as she could. It was mostly country music these days, as it took over her heart and filled her soul with happiness.

"_Always holding hands, never making plans, just living in the moment, babe" _

Rose thought about Seth whilst singing, she always imagined he'd be the one she spent her life with, but fantasies always made her lose her mind. He'd never want to be with somebody like her, she was smart and funny, yet Seth preferred cheap and easy women. "Men are impossible" Rose said with a sigh as she put the last glass away and put the towel back down on the counter to dry. Everything was cleaned in the kitchen, now it was time to tackle the living room with some good cleaning. Rose smiled to herself as she danced into the living room, as one of her other favourite country songs started playing from her iTunes library.

* * *

Seth was walking towards Rose's dorm room with a small smile on his face and his head in a world of imagination. He could admit to himself that he wasn't entirely happy with his life, yet there were certain things he wouldn't change. Especially the part of his life when he met Rose, she was beautiful yet very shy which made him like her even more. But then he had to remind himself that he was with Harriet and couldn't think like this about another woman. But he always found himself comparing both women who were complete opposites of each other, Rose being shy, Harriet being loud and certainly being proud of it. Both women studied different subjects, yet it was Rose he felt closer to as she was studying animation. It was getting tough but he wanted Rose there as a friend, as somebody like her was hard to find in this big world. She'd gone through so much in her past and he wanted to be there as a friend.

"Somebody having a party?" Seth asked himself quietly as he walked down the corridor towards Rose's dorm. He heard loud music coming from one of the rooms and smiled widely when he saw which room it was coming from.

He'd been to see Harriet over at her house just to stop in and drop off her sweater, which she'd left in the studios earlier. She hadn't exactly been friendly when he'd asked for Rose's address but he didn't care. Rose was an amazing person and he wanted to stay as her friend.

Seth stood outside Rose's door and heard her music playing and smiled when he could hear her singing. Would she be able to hear his knocking on the door though? Seth thought about that and then tried the doorknob and found it was open, so he pushed the door open and looked inside. "Rose?" he called softly and smiled when he saw her computer on playing her music. But Rose wasn't around, so he walked further into the room and smiled when he saw her dancing around in the living room cleaning. The song currently playing on her computer fitting the situation perfectly making Seth smile even wider,

_Gimmie the girl that's beautiful,_  
_without a trace of makeup of on,_  
_Barefoot in the kitchen,_  
_Singing her favourite song._

_Dancing around like a fool,_  
_starring in her own little show,_  
_Gimmie the girl the rest of the world,_  
_ain't lucky enough to know_

Rose was singing along loudly as she danced and swayed to the music making Seth smile whilst trying not to laugh. She looked so amazing swaying to the music as she was cleaning. Not having a care in the world as she reached up to the top shelf to clean all of the dust. But he noticed her t-shirt riding up exposing some of her back, and he couldn't help but look at all of the scars showing. They crisscrossed her back and it made his heart melt for her, how could somebody be so cruel to such a sweet young woman?

"Nice dancing" Seth said as the song finished playing leaving the room quiet enough for him to speak without shouting. Rose however dropped the duster she had in her hand and swivelled round to see Seth leaning in her doorway. "Breaking and entering your favourite thing to do on a day off?" she asked as she picked the duster up and put it on the table and folded her arms. The blush on her cheeks making her curse quietly, he'd seen her dancing like a fool… great!

"I must admit, it is pretty fun doing it, and I might make it a hobby, especially if I get to see you dancing like that again" Seth replied with a small smile getting Rose to turn another shade of pink.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough"

"Oh"

"Yeah, you've shown me some new interesting dance moves" Rose just rolled her eyes and then smiled, the blush leaving her cheeks slowly. "So what can I do for you Seth? Besides calling the cops for breaking into my dorm room" Seth laughed a little as he came into the room where Rose was and sat down on one of the chairs.

"It'd be funny if you did do that"

"Nah I wouldn't call them, do you know how long it'd take them to find my room? I'm sure you had trouble"

"It is tricky to find I'll admit"

"How did you find it anyway?"

"Through Harriet"

"Oh"

"I shouldn't have asked I'm sorry"

"No it's okay, I just find it weird that's all"

"Why weird?"

"Well why did you want to come and see me?"

"Because it's been a week since I last saw you"

"Well I won the competition last week and it was just a onetime thing, I thought everybody would go back to their normal lives"

"Nuh-uh not me, you've made quite an impression back at the studios and I wouldn't want to forget you" Rose just looked at Seth, what did he mean by that? Probably nothing, her mind was going crazy right now and she'd take anything to heart.

"Well that's nice to know" she eventually got out as she sat down on her beanbag chair making Seth smile.

"It looks like my old dorm room when I went to RISD"

"Really?"

"Yeah, the desk, the beanbags, the computer"

"My computer is centuries old! You have to put coal in it for it to work" Seth laughed making Rose smile at him, this felt right… but then she thought about Harriet and frowned.

"You keep doing that"

"Doing what?"

"Frowning, one minute you're happy, the next you frown"

"I'm just thinking of something that's all"

"Care to share?"

"Not really"

"Oh come on, it's probably not that bad"

"I was- just erm…" Rose trailed off and went into thought for a while, could she tell him about her hatred of Harriet? Or would he just go skipping up to Harriet and tell her everything? That would cause too much of a mess.

"You gonna continue your sentence?" Seth asked with a small smirk as he noticed Rose fumbling around for words… she looked so adorable.

"I was just thinking about how it- how it got started with you and Harriet"

"Oh… that"

"Yeah"

"Well to be honest… I was drunk"

"Oh"

"Yeah and she was just asking me to do Stewie and Brian impressions all night, and then we got talking and stuff… happened"

"Yeah I got all the details from Harriet"

"I'm sorry"

"Why be sorry?"

"Because- I" Seth trailed off and Rose just looked at him, why did he keep doing this? If he put her through any more suspense she'd run around screaming in frustration!

"It's your relationship Seth and Harriet is my friend so I'm happy for you"

"You are?"

"Yeah, you both seem happy so at least it's going well" Rose was finding this weird, why was he apologising for having a relationship with Harriet? She was finding men more and more confusing as she got older... and also quite strange too.

"So I don't see why you have to apologise for your relationship with her, you should be happy you're with somebody" Rose continued making Seth look at her with his big brown eyes, he was so stunning and it killed her inside knowing he was taken.

"I just felt the urge to apologise" Seth said softly, still not taking his eyes off Rose's who was now blushing slightly. Whatever this was, was making both of them get lost in the moment and if Rose didn't wake up now and focus, she'd do something she'd regret.

"Well honestly, you don't need to"

"I was just unsure that's all"

"Why?"

"Because of what you said at the party last week"

"I said a lot of things, which sentence in particular, are you on about?"

"The one where you said I was your idol"

"Oh, that one"

"Yeah, that one"

"That doesn't change anything I suppose, yes you're still my idol and inspiration but it doesn't make me hate you because you're dating Harriet. I don't have any feelings for you" Rose felt bad saying that, as she saw the hurt spread across Seth's face in an instant. But he tried to cover it up by smiling but Rose could tell it was completely fake. It pained her inside to say it, but she had to pretend not to like him in order to get over him, otherwise she was screwed.

"Well… just as long as you're okay with it"

"Absolutely" Rose felt the awkward silence coming on so she decided to get up from her beanbag and travel over to her table where her drawings were. Seth watched her as she got up and sighed, she didn't have any feelings for him? That hit him hard, but he didn't know why. Shouldn't he be happy with Harriet and not be constantly thinking about Rose? This was getting too confusing, what did he want in life these days? Seth just shook his head and then tried to break the silence between him and Rose, "So how are the drawings coming along?"

"Just great, I've almost finished them, now I need to scan them onto a computer and animate it"

"You can use one of the computers at the studios if you like? Maybe we can help you"

"Oh no I can't that'd be too much hassle"

"Honestly its okay, we'd love to help you"

"You sure?"

"Absolutely"

"Well just as long as you're okay with it"

"I certainly am" Rose smiled and said "I wonder what it'd look like"

"You planning on sending it off?"

"Yeah I think I am"

"You don't sound too sure on it"

"Well my professor told me to send off all of my work"

"You've done more than one work project?"

"Yeah my course was film and television but I changed to animation"

"You worked on screen?"

"My project was to create a children's programme with a couple other people and we had fun making it, I liked being on screen it came natural to me"

"You'll have to show it to me one day"

"Nope" is all Rose said getting Seth to laugh and then grin widely, "Surely it's not that bad"

"It isn't but sometimes I get self conscious when watching myself on screen, let alone letting close friends watch it when I'm in the room" Seth smiled again and said "You gonna finish it tonight?"

"Nah I'm heading out soon" Rose replied looking at her watch seeing it was past 4pm and she needed to get ready.

"Heading out anywhere interesting?"

"I've got a date"

"Really? Do you mind me asking who with?"

"Artie" Seth suddenly felt his face drop… she was dating Artie? His assistant Artie?

"Wow" is all Seth said making Rose raise her eyebrows at him.

"Problem?"

"No, no I'm just surprised"

"Why?"

"I don't know…" Seth couldn't really find the explanation to his surprise; she was dating somebody, so what? He was dating somebody, so why was this bothering him so much? Artie was one of his best friends and Rose had become quite close in the past week, he should be happy! Not sitting here feeling jealously boiling inside.

"Well that's pretty much how I felt when Harriet told me you two were dating"

"What did she say exactly?"

"I woke up and answered the door whilst trying not to kill her for making so much noise, then she came in and said that you two fooled around in the limo and then you were suddenly dating"

"Oh"

"But now it's progressed into a proper relationship according to her"

"It has?"

"That's what she said, you two are official now apparently"

"That's news to me"

"Was news to me too" Rose noticed Seth's look of uncertainty and smiled to herself, maybe he was beginning to realise how much of a psycho Harriet was when it came to relationships. But why was this making her happy? She was supposed to feel sorry for him wasn't she? But smiling about it felt a lot better, he did deserve it. "But that's only what she told me; maybe she's confused or got mixed up signals from you. It's best to talk it out if you're unsure"

"Yeah I guess I'll have to"

"Don't worry she'll calm down after a while, it's still the whole star struck thing"

"But you're not still star struck, are you?"

"Not really no, it feels comfortable talking to you and everybody else. Plus it's generous of you to even want to speak to me still even after the competition"

"Well like I said, you've caught quite a few people's eye and they like you"

"Well that's nice to know"

"Especially Alex, she adores you!" Rose just smiled; it was a rarity for an outsider to become popular with the in crowd, especially the in crowd making Family Guy!

"I like Alex, she's very energetic"

"And I'm not?" Seth teased and Rose smiled slightly, "I haven't really had the chance to get to know you really, the first day we met was the first day I couldn't even speak to you"

"I know and I still feel so bad about that"

"So do I"

"May I ask you why that is?"

"It's pretty obvious Seth"

"It isn't to me"

"I won the competition not her, it was so amazing to read the email from Spencer saying I was going to meet you finally after years of following your career, and then to have that taken away by some crazy psycho fan is heartbreaking"

"Why-why heartbreaking?"

"Because Seth you are my idol, I'm not ashamed to admit it to anybody as you've given me the inspiration and motivation to pursue my dreams of animation"

"Wow, that's… amazing really"

"Surely you've got other people who idolise you"

"I do get letters all the time through the mail, but I've never had somebody tell me face to face that I'm their idol"

"Well I guess there's a first for everything" Seth smiled widely and then said "I better get moving then if you've got plans"

"Okay then, it was nice speaking to you"

"Yeah you too"

"And if you tell anybody about my little dancing session I'll make sure you can't have children in the future" Seth laughed and said "My lips are sealed, as are my legs now whenever you're around" Rose laughed her infectious laugh getting Seth to smile again as he headed towards the door. "I'll have to catch up with you again soon"

"Yeah that'd be fun to hang out"

"Well once your drawings are done I can help you animate it if you want"

"I'll think about it" Rose said with a smile getting Seth to smile again. "I haven't smiled this much in a day before"

"Smiling makes you happy, and you should smile more often"

"And why's that?"

"Because you're so gorgeous-" Rose cut herself off and stared wide-eyed at him, did she just say that? Oh man that's not gonna go down well. Seth however just stared at her and then his lips curved into another gorgeous smile, "Gorgeous huh?"

"Yes" Rose squeaked out and looked down at the floor, but shivered when she felt Seth's fingers lift her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. He smiled again and Rose could feel her legs turning into jelly, why was he having this affect on her? He was with Harriet… remember that! Rose shook her head and pulled away from Seth's fingers and said "I gu-guess I'll see you round sometime then"

"It's a date" then Seth lightly touched her nose with his finger getting Rose to smile slightly before she shut the door slowly. She let out a shaky breath and tried to get the feeling back in her legs, what the hell was that about? That man was too infectious!

"Rose you have definitely got to sort your head out" Rose said to herself as she went back into the living room to put her iTunes back on to continue her playlist. She smiled when one of her favourites came on, so she continued to dance around her room like a fool making herself laugh. Her evening was going to be spent with Artie and she certainly couldn't wait for it!


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Artie said once he'd hugged Rose and smiled down at her, "It's alright no worries"

"Are you sure? I just felt awful"

"It's okay honestly"

"Seth just kept us busy all afternoon"

"Artie its okay" Rose said reassuringly as they walked down the street with the warm sun shining on them making them both smile.

"You wanna go anywhere in particular?" Rose asked making Artie smile, "I have somewhere in mind"

"Where?"

"It's a surprise"

"Oh come on I hate surprises!" Artie laughed and said "You'll have to wait and see" Rose just spat her tongue out at him and then laughed along with Artie.

"I'm so glad we met"

"Yeah me too" Rose replied with a smile, Artie returned the smile and Rose felt butterflies in her tummy.

"So how's your day been?"

"Pretty interesting"

"Why's that?"

"I cleaned my whole dorm room and then I carried on drawing out my storyboard and it's ready to be scanned onto the computer now"

"Really?"

"Yep it's pretty scary"

"Why scary?"

"Because it'll be the first time I see it as an animatic, it'll be moving and everything"

Artie smiled and said "I can help you, I know my stuff"

"Really?"

"Yeah I started off working for Seth as one of the animators, but then progressed further up the ladder to his assistant, and then the next promotion would to be a co producer"

"Well I really hope you get it"

"Thank you" Rose smiled and Artie smiled again, but then said, "Ready for something to eat?" Rose turned to face the restaurant and her mouth dropped; it was one of the most expensive restaurants in downtown LA!

"Artie seriously we can't eat here!"

"And why ever not?"

"Because it's too expensive"

"So?"

"I don't deserve this"

"You deserve special things as you're a special woman and you look beautiful tonight" Rose looked down at the floor and blushed, he thought she was beautiful? Aww he was too sweet to her. "You look so amazing when you blush like that" Artie said with a smile as he watched Rose stare down at her heels.

"So do you care to join me for dinner?" Artie said as he held out his arm for Rose to take, which she did and then smiled.

"Let's go then" Rose replied making Artie smile as they headed into the restaurant for a late dinner.

* * *

Around 10pm Artie dropped Rose home safe and sound to her dorm room. They'd spent the evening together talking and having fun walking around the town. Rose had enjoyed her meal and was surprised when Artie insisted he pay the cheque and then take her out for drinks in the bar down the street. He'd been incredibly sweet to her all night and she felt comfortable around him.

"Home safe and sound" Artie said as they stood outside Rose's room.

"Thank you for such a lovely evening, I can't believe you wouldn't let me help you pay for the meal though"

"It was my treat"

"But it was so expensive"

"Honestly its okay Rose, I've got plenty of money"

"Are you saying I haven't?" Rose asked teasingly getting Artie to smile, "That didn't come out right"

"Don't worry about it, I have enough money to pay rent and keep up to date with things, I'm happy being a student"

"Well if all goes well with your student film, you could become famous"

"Nah I doubt it"

"Don't put yourself down Rose" Rose just smiled at him and then said, "Wanna come in and hang out? I've got some movies and we can make some popcorn if you want"

"Yeah sounds good"

"Not sure which movies you're into though"

"I watch anything"

"Including chick flicks?"

"Yeah" Rose laughed as she opened the door to let them both inside. Artie stepped inside and smiled when Rose threw her keys on the side and slipped off her heels.

"Man that feels better!"

"Not a huge fan of heels I take it?"

"Not really but they're worth it to look nice and match my dress" Artie laughed as he slipped off his shoes and headed towards Rose who had slipped off her shrug and lay it down on the chair and then turned to face Artie.

"Wanna choose the film?" She asked getting him to smile; "Yeah sure" Artie then headed over to her film collection and started to browse through them. "Wow you've got a lot of films"

"It's one of my treasured collections" Artie smiled and then picked one out and gave it to Rose who saw it was Forrest Gump, "You sure you want to watch this with me?"

Artie laughed and said "Yeah why?"

"It's just I cry at the end"

"I think everybody does"

"I cry so much it takes ages for me to calm down so I hope you're prepared"

Artie smiled and said "I don't mind, you can hug me when you feel upset"

Rose smiled and then said "I'm gonna go get some drinks and stuff so make yourself comfortable"

"No it's alright I'll help" Rose then headed into the kitchen with Artie behind her, then they both started getting some refreshments together to eat and drink during the movie.

"Wow this place reminds me of my college dorm"

"Yeah Seth said the same thing earlier" Rose replied and then stared wide-eyed realising what she'd just said.

"Seth was here earlier?" Artie asked confused and noticed Rose's wide eyes.

"Yeah he err dropped by earlier"

"Oh"

"Yeah even I found it weird"

"Yeah me too"

"Artie I didn't know he was dropping by I swear"

"Nah it's alright Rose don't worry, he thinks you're a good friend"

"He does?"

"Yeah he never seems to shut up about you whenever we're in work"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah"

"He's with Harriet though"

"I know, don't get me started on that topic"

Rose laughed and said "Not a big Harriet fan I take it?"

"Do you honestly walk around with your ears and eyes shut? She's awful!"

"Yeah I've pretty much been through it all with her"

"She's just so loud and I really wanna just shut her mouth but she never stops!" Rose was laughing at Artie's frustration and he soon found himself laughing as well. But then Rose sighed and said "I hope Seth being here doesn't make you think any less of me, honestly I didn't know he was coming. I was shocked to see him standing in the doorway"

"Nah it's alright I don't mind Rose, it's your life and he's a friend"

"It was weird"

"Why?"

"Okay now it's my turn to ask if you walk around with your eyes closed, it's Seth MacFarlane! Creator of Family Guy and you're his assistant and part of the most wonderful team I've ever met, it's weird to find them in my dorm room when they should be out on the streets being proud of what they're doing" Artie smiled and said "You're amazing you know that?"

"Why am I?"

"You always put other people first, you think about other people all the time and always find good in everybody. You're positive and you smile all the time. Since I've met you, you've said so many wonderful things to me it's unreal. You're so amazing Rose and I'm happy to be spending this time with you" Rose smiled and felt herself blushing again; he was just so sweet!

"That was so sweet, thank you Artie"

"Anything to let me see that gorgeous smile of yours" Rose smiled as she looked down at the floor but then said, "Wanna start watching the movie? We can have a movie marathon if you want? Or have you got work tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid I've got work early tomorrow but hey if you're free from classes you can bring your boxes of drawings and we can turn them into your animatic if you like?"

"Yeah that would be amazing! You sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not, there are always a couple computers free so you can drop by" Rose smiled and said "Okay then I'll swing by tomorrow if that's alright"

"It's a date" Rose smiled again but said "Do you mind if I go quickly change out of this dress?"

"Yeah sure go ahead"

"I'll be two seconds I promise"

"No worries take your time" Rose smiled and then quickly walked out of the kitchen towards her bedroom. "I'll get things started if you like?" Artie called and Rose said "You sure?"

"Yeah I'll put the DVD on so it's ready" Rose smiled and then quickly went into her bedroom and closed the door. She unzipped the dress and then threw it onto her chair, and then she went over to her bed and picked up her pyjamas, which consisted of a baggy t-shirt and some shorts. So she quickly threw them on, removed her make-up and tied her hair up in a messy bun. Once that was done she checked herself over in the mirror and smiled to herself, happy with how she looked. Then she headed out of the room and headed towards the living room where Artie was waiting. He smiled when he saw her and said "Gorgeous" making Rose blush as she headed over to the couch and sat down.

At first she didn't know where to sit, next to Artie or on the opposite end of the couch. Wow… was dating always this confusing?

"Rose are you okay?" Artie asked as he noticed that Rose was looking uncertain about something, "I'm just not used to this" Rose mumbled as she fiddled with her t-shirt.

"Used to what?"

"Dating somebody"

"Oh"

"So I'm just a bit unsure that's all"

"You've really never dated anybody before?"

"Is it that bad?"

"No I think it's a very respectable thing, it makes you more special to me" Rose smiled and then listened when Artie said "So to help you relax and smile, you can come cuddle up to me" Rose then scooted over towards Artie and smiled when he wrapped one arm around her so she could rest her head on him.

"That better?" he asked once she'd got comfortable and snuggled down closer to him. "Yes" She replied with a smile as they both started to watch the film. Artie smiled and rested his head lightly on Rose's and heard her sigh happily. Things were going well so far and Artie hoped that their friendship would continue to grow and progress further. Rose was a special young lady and was rare to find nowadays, so Artie felt happy and proud to call her his friend.

* * *

A couple hours later the film had finished and Artie smiled when he saw that Rose had fallen asleep with her head resting on his lap. She looked peaceful and so beautiful when she slept and Artie stroked her face and moved some of her hair out of her face, "You're so beautiful" Artie murmured when Rose sighed happily in her sleep and smiled.

"Time for bed for you" Artie then scooted forward gently whilst keeping Rose still so she wouldn't wake up. Then when he got up he stretched his legs and then proceeded to pick Rose up to carry her to her bedroom. But when he slid his hand round her waist he felt the deep gashes in her back and frowned, who would do something like that? Beat an innocent child every night, it was just sick!

"I'm gonna protect you" Artie whispered as he carried Rose towards the bedroom and stepped inside. It was still light enough for him to see, so he placed Rose on the bed but she suddenly jerked and held onto him tightly, "Don't leave me" she murmured as she scrunched her face up.

"Rose honey you're tired and it's late"

"Don't leave me with her"

"Leave you with who?"

"Mama's gonna hit me again"

"Rose you're mom isn't here"

"She's got that belt I can see it" Artie realised Rose was having a nightmare and felt terrible, she even dreamt about her beatings? This poor woman was more scarred than he thought, both mentally and physically.

"Please don't leave me" Rose cried in her sleep and Artie could only hold onto her. "Harriet won't help me"

"Rose, Harriet isn't here"

"Her and Seth are laughing as Mama's beating me"

"Rose it's only me and you, you're just dreaming" Artie was worried now as she was dreaming about Harriet and Seth. He couldn't even think about them at the moment, were they even a couple? Or just using each other? It was obvious that only Harriet and Seth knew what their relationship was, if you could even call it that. Artie was snapped from his thoughts when Rose suddenly jolted again and sat up in fright, her breathing shaky.

"Rose you alright?"

"Artie?"

"Yes I'm here"

"Where are we?"

"In your bedroom"

"How did we get here?"

"You fell asleep during the film so I carried you here to put you to bed but you started talking in your sleep"

"It was horrible"

"A nightmare I take it?"

"Yes"

"Want to tell me about it?"

"Just the usual one I have"

"About your mama?"

"How'd you know that?"

"You were talking to me"

"I was?"

"Yeah"

"What did I say exactly?" Rose replied starting to blush.

"Just that your mama had the belt and then you mentioned Harriet and Seth" Rose just stared down at her blanket and whispered, "It's just so horrible"

"What exactly happened Rose? It's alright if you don't want to tell me"

"When I was younger my daddy left and he blamed me for it, said I was a bad daughter and he was leaving because of me. It broke mama's heart and then she turned to drink, and then every night she used to throw abusive comments my way saying it was my fault. I tried to argue back but then she hit me for the first time, I cried and then she told me off for crying and got her belt out. Then every night for years she used to beat me until I passed out"

"When did she stop?"

"She eventually got help for her drink problem and realised that she'd been abusing me and broke down in tears and apologised"

"And you forgave her?"

"I didn't want to but I had no choice"

"Why?"

"She'd beaten me half to death and I was frightened to disobey her, so I did everything right and never got told off since then" Artie just stared down at the floor and sighed, unsure how to take all of this. Rose had certainly been strong and it explained so much to him, why she hated being treated with expensive dinners or gifts, why she had good manners and couldn't hate or blame anybody for things going wrong.

"You're so amazing, you know that?"

"How'd you mean?"

"You're strong and can handle things, any other person would have given up but you remained strong and look how far you've come. You're living your dreams and are soon going to be famous. You're incredible Rose and I'm so proud to call you my friend" Rose just stared down at the blanket with tears shining in her eyes, Artie was being so sweet to her and she couldn't be thankful enough.

"Rose don't cry" Artie whispered once he heard her sniffing and saw her wiping tears away. "It was just so horrible" Rose cried and then collapsed onto Artie who caught her and held her close. He rocked her back and forth whilst she cried, "Why did this happen to me? I'm a good person"

"Bad things always happen to good people Rose"

"But I was only a child"

"I know sweetie but you've gotta think ahead, look how far you've come with your Uni course, you're almost ready to send out your animatic, you've got some amazing friends and you're a loving wonderful person. You've got nothing to be ashamed of Rose, nobody's perfect" Rose just sniffed and held onto Artie tightly; the tears still rolling down her cheeks. Part of her felt stupid for crying like this and causing a scene, but she always felt like this after having that nightmare.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled to Artie who made a noise and replied, "Rose its okay"

"But I've caused a scene and made a big fuss"

"It doesn't matter, we're friends and I want to be here to comfort you and make you smile" Rose hugged him again and smiled slightly when she could smell his cologne on his neck. "Thank you" Rose whispered as she felt sleep overtaking her again. "It's alright" Artie murmured back and felt Rose going to deadweight and knew she was falling back to sleep.

"I'm gonna go now sweetie, you get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow" Rose gave him a sleepy smile before closing her eyes and falling back to sleep. Artie smiled and stroked her face once more before getting up off the bed and heading out the room. It had certainly been an emotional night and Artie realised that Rose had a terrible past and needed somebody to help make things better. He had no interest in leaving her, he wanted nothing but to make her happy so that's what he was going to do. Artie smiled, as he was happy to be spending his day with Rose tomorrow putting together her animatic to be screened for the first time.

Rose's life could change forever and Artie certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity to help make that happen. He smiled once more before leaving Rose's apartment to head off home to get some sleep himself, it was certainly going to be an interesting day tomorrow and he was certainly looking forward to it.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning Rose woke up slightly confused, why wasn't she wearing her blanket? Her curtains were open and she looked like she could play a part in night of the living dead with messy hair and puffy red eyes.

"Wah? I'm so confused" Rose said to herself as she looked around the room completely confused. She rolled out of bed and sat on the edge and rubbed her eyes, she didn't even know the time. Thank goodness she didn't have any classes today!

"Shower" is all Rose mumbled as she got up and headed towards the bathroom. She grabbed a towel, stripped down and quickly jumped in the shower. She scrubbed down and then washed her hair quickly before turning the shower off and drying herself off. Flashes of the previous night were coming back to her as she dried off and put her clothes on. She remembered Artie being there and they watched a film, but she couldn't remember how she got into the bedroom to sleep. That part was a blur but at least she remembered Artie being there and all of the fun they had. He was incredibly sweet to her and she wondered how she managed to befriend such a wonderful person.

But the person currently knocking on her door made her frown; once again it was Harriet, "Yoo-hoo! Rose you home?!"

"No I'm out" Rose mumbled to herself as she fumbled around her room getting the last of her clothes on before exiting her room. She walked towards the door and opened it quickly before heading back into the bedroom to fetch her towel to dry her hair. "Hey why are you in such a hurry?" Came Harriet's screechy voice making Rose shudder. "To get away from you" Rose mumbled as she rubbed her hair and walked back into the living room to find Harriet lolling all over the couch.

"What's got you so dreamy?" Rose asked curiously as she noticed Harriet smiling to herself, "You're probably gonna hate me for this (Rose bit her tongue) but I arranged a double date tonight with me, you, Seth and Artie!" then Harriet clapped her hands together in excitement and Rose just looked bewildered,

"You've what?"

"I just thought of it and decided to go with my instincts"

"Have you even asked Seth?"

"No not yet but he'll agree to it anyway"

"Sorry for asking but, what type of relationship do you even have with Seth?"

Harriet just shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know, he's good in bed"

"So you're just using him?"

"What's with the constant lectures from you lately?"

"I just don't think it's fair that you're using him for just sex"

"Yeah but he doesn't know that"

"Harriet you can't just string him along like that, he might actually have real genuine feelings for you"

"So?"

"So it's wrong for you to do this, sit him down and have a talk with him about what type of relationship you have"

"But that'll take too long" Rose just sighed and put her towel down on the couch and ventured into her bedroom to find her brush. "How did things go with Artie last night?" came Harriet's voice and Rose sighed.

"It was nice"

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well I just thought-"

"Harriet we just had dinner!"

"Well he's cute and normally dinner leads to other things"

"We had dinner, we went out for drinks and then he came back here and we watched some films"

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Man I would have jumped him, he's quite good looking"

"I thought you couldn't remember what he looked like"

"Oh I saw him last night"

"You what?"

"Yeah he left your apartment block looking kinda happy so I just presumed something had happened"

"How did you see him?"

"I'd just got back from clubbing, I met this gorgeous bloke! I mean sooo gorgeous!"

"Again I will remind you that you dumped Josh for Seth... remember? SETH" Rose was getting a little angry now, if Seth was just on Harriet's list of people to sleep with then that was wrong and unfair. Seth might actually have real feelings for Harriet and if she was using him, he would get hurt.

"Yes I do remember Seth, but I can't help getting attention off other men, I'm hot and I know it" Rose just rolled her eyes and then looked at the time, it was reaching 10:00am and she needed to get ready to head to the studios to meet Artie.

"I better get moving" Rose said after she clipped her hair back and sorted her clothes out.

"Where you going?" Harriet asked as she also stood up from the couch.

"I'm meeting Artie again"

"Wow you two are getting serious"

"It isn't a date"

"Well what is it then?"

"He's helping me put together my animatic"

"Your what?"

"My animatic, the drawings I've been doing for the past 5 months are complete and now I need to put them onto a computer into an animatic"

"Oh that thing" Harriet said dully causing Rose to frown deeply. "Thanks for the support Harriet" Harriet didn't say anything and just sorted her hair out, she hated it that people fussed over Rose's stupid drawings, they weren't that good!

"Anyways I'm gonna shoot so I'll see you round"

"Wait I'll come with!"

"Why?"

"To see Seth, duhh" Harriet replied sweetly as she danced out of the door, not bothering to help Rose with her big boxes of drawings. "It's okay Harriet I don't need any help," Rose said sarcastically as she walked down the hallways after locking her room up.

"I'm not breaking any of my nails carrying those things" Rose just sighed as she headed outside to see if she could hail a cab to take her to the studios. Maybe she could also pay the driver to run over Harriet? Here's to wishful thinking!

Rose found a cab and climbed inside with her boxes, but groaned in frustration when Harriet climbed in as well and shoved her boxes aside. "Watch it!" Rose nearly snarled out to Harriet, if any pictures got mixed up she'd kill Harriet. "What? They're in my way" Harriet said sweetly causing Rose to frown as the cab pulled away from the curb to take them to the studios.

* * *

"Can you get the door for me?" Rose asked as she carried the boxes towards the FOX studios with Harriet dancing in front of her. "Sure whatever" Harriet said opening the doors but not bothering to hold them open. Instead they swung back and nearly knocked the boxes flying, "Damn bitch" Rose said aloud actually hoping Harriet would hear but she was already heading towards the elevators.

"I'll get that for you" came a voice behind Rose making her turn to see Mike Henry, "Thank you" Rose said with a smile as Mike opened the door so she could step inside.

"You're Rose right?" Mike asked as they headed inside, "Yep that's me"

"I'm Mike Henry, I don't think we got chance to speak when you were here last week"

"It's lovely to meet you, well properly this time"

Mike smiled and then said, "What's all of this?"

"My student film, me and Artie are turning it into my animatic today"

"Wow really?"

"Yep"

"What's it about? I'd love to see the final screening"

"Well I've got 2 really, the first one is a children's programme and the other is about 2 college roommates"

"Similar to you and dare I say it… Harriet?"

"Pretty much, they pretend their best friends but secretly hate each other and come up with plans to kill each other" Mike smiled and said "Sound's interesting"

"I hope it turns out okay"

"I'm sure it will, I have faith in you" Rose smiled as the elevator doors chimed open and both of them stepped out and Mike said "I'll take you to Artie if you like"

"Sure that'd be nice, thank you" Mike nodded and then walked down the corridors greeting the people who walked past him. People even greeted Rose; she couldn't believe how friendly these people where… even the mailman was!

"Wow you're all so friendly" Mike smiled and said "Well when you have to see each other 7 days a week it's best to get along otherwise there'd be problems" Rose smiled and then continued following Mike down the corridors towards Seth's office, where Artie and Spencer would probably be sitting outside working at their desks.

"Here we are" Mike said as he walked towards the group of cubicles outside Seth's office. Rose smiled when she saw Artie on the phone and writing something down, but he looked up and grinned when he saw Mike and Rose who was looking shy. He quickly finished up on the phone and headed over to them.

"Hey guys" he said cheerfully and smiled down at Rose who was blushing, "Hey" she said quietly and Artie smiled.

"That's a lot of boxes"

"Well there's 2 filled with the one cartoon and I've brought another one with me"

"Okay that's cool"

"Do you mind?"

"Nah that's cool, but I must warn you that it'll probably take all day to get it working"

"That's fine I'm free all day"

"I might have to shoot off a little later"

"Oh"

"I've just got a meeting with a couple writers and Seth so it won't take long, but I'll set you up with everything and you should find it pretty straightforward"

"Okay then" Rose said with a smile getting Artie to smile too, "But don't worry I've put Spencer on standby if anything goes wrong"

"It probably will go wrong" Rose said and then laughed a little making Artie smile, "Right we should get started"

"Oh man you're leaving me here?" Spencer whined

"Yeah we've gotta go to the computers"

"But _she's_ here"

"Really? She's in there right now?" Rose said with a small frown making Spencer frown too, "Yep, I'm just grateful that Seth's walls are sound proof"

"You know I could have gone my whole life without knowing that" Rose replied making Spencer smile, "Just be grateful you don't have to sit here every day and see her and listen to her"

"I have to see her everyday anyway"

"Not like this though"

"Is it bad?"

"She's just loud and giddy and sooooooo annoying!"

"That just sounds like regular Harriet"

"No trust me" Artie butted in, "This is Harriet like you've never seen her before"

"Jeez why does Seth put up with it?"

"I ask myself that question everyday Rose" Spencer replied making Rose smile.

"Anyway we better get moving" Artie said as he turned to face Rose and took the boxes off of her.

"It's okay Artie"

"Nope I'm not letting a lovely young woman struggle" Rose smiled and then waved at Spencer and said "Good luck!" Spencer just frowned and then blew raspberries at Rose making her laugh as she exited the room and followed Artie towards the computer room.

* * *

"Oh wow is it this simple?" Rose asked as she watched Artie scanning some of the pictures onto the computer and they were saving in order. "Yep so far, then we need to load up the programme and insert every picture single-handedly and then we can watch it come to life"

"I'm really excited about it"

"Have you got any voice over recordings?"

"Yeah I recorded the script at Uni" Rose then dug out her memory sticks from her pocket and said "I always come prepared"

"Great, we can add it with the animatic and see what it looks like"

"I hope its okay"

"I'm sure it will be"

"I'm not sure whether I want to send it out though"

"And why ever not?"

"I'm just scared"

"Don't be Rose, think of it as a wise career move. You do want a job in animation don't you?"

"Of course"

"So send it out everywhere"

"Everywhere?"

"Yep including worldwide"

"You mean like send it to the BBC in England?"

"Yep exactly, get addresses to different companies and go nuts. You'll get tons of responses"

"Man that'd be cool, I could go anywhere!" Artie smiled and said "See that's the spirit"

"My dream job was to always work here though"

"Was it?"

"Yep, to work alongside you and everybody else would be incredible"

"Well don't hold your breath, anything is possible" Rose smiled and then looked at the screen, not really believing her cartoon was slowly coming to life. "You better start believing Rose, cause this is really happening" Artie said with a smile as he watched Rose staring at the screen looking surprised that her pictures were on the computer screen.

"You're gonna be famous Rose, I can certainly see that"

* * *

"Seth when are you gonna be done?" Harriet whined as she watched Seth sitting at his office drawing something. "I've got a lot to do Harriet, I told you that two days ago" Seth replied not taking his eyes off his drawing on the desk. Harriet just huffed and puffed loudly as she folded her arms, this was beginning to get annoying.

"I want you to take me out!" Harriet began whining again and Seth just put his pencil down and stared at Harriet. She was becoming a real pain in his ass and they'd only known each other for a week and a couple days. He even had to question himself as to why he was even with her; yes at first she was a good lay and just what he needed to relieve some stress. But now he realised she was clingy and a complete waste of time.

"Harriet it's only 11 and my day has only just started, I've got scripts to read, voices to record, drawings and meetings, I don't have time" Harriet just huffed loudly again and Seth rolled his eyes. "Surely you've got friends who want to see you"

"Well I can't see Rose cause she's here"

Seth looked up from his drawing again and said "What?"

"Yeah she came in earlier to see Artie, carrying some boxes"

"Boxes?"

"Yeah her boxes of drawings" Harriet rolled her eyes and Seth frowned.

"What is she doing now then?"

"Something like making an animatic or whatever it is"

"Oh"

"Anyway enough of her... take me out!"

"Harriet can you not hear me? I'm busy!"

"You're always busy!"

"This is my job it's what I do!"

"Yeah and I'm your girlfriend!"

"What does that have to do with this?!"

"I should be your first priority!"

"My job has always comes first!"

"I'm your girlfriend though!" Seth had, had enough of this; she wasn't his girlfriend and never would be.

"You are not my girlfriend!" Seth shouted in anger. She had pissed him off and the sudden thought of Rose with Artie pissed him off even more.

"I am your girlfriend!" Harriet shouted back, "We've been together for over a week now!"

"You've never been my girlfriend; I was just using you for sex!" Harriet just looked stunned for a while but then smiled, "Seth you're just cranky from working too hard"

"Please just go" Seth said as calm as he could whilst looking at his drawing making Harriet frown. "Fine, but remember Seth, I _am_ your girlfriend and I _will_ see you tonight" then she stormed out of the room leaving Seth frowning. "What have you got yourself into Seth?" he said to himself as he stared at his desk. So many different emotions were running through him it was making him frustrated with everything. Especially the thought of Rose working with Artie, he was looking forward to working with her with her animatic, but Artie had gotten there first. It wasn't fair, Rose was happy and free and he was now being followed by a psycho obsessed so-called girlfriend.

"This is a crazy life" Seth mumbled to himself as he tried to finish his drawing but couldn't. Every time his pen touched the paper he just couldn't draw anything, Rose filled his mind. Why was he feeling like this? What was his mind trying to tell him?

"Seth I honestly believe you've gone crazy" Seth said to himself as he threw his pencil down onto the desk and suddenly stood up. He might as well go and see what everybody else was doing; maybe he could bump into Rose on the way?

* * *

Rose and Artie were still glued to the computer many hours later working on Rose's animatic. So far things were going brilliantly and Artie still laughed at Rose's look of surprise whenever they played back the film. "It's so amazing" Rose said as she watched her characters come to life on the screen.

"Well it's only a quarter way done, this is only 7 minutes long, how long is the whole thing?"

"Around 30 minutes"

"Well we've still got a long way to go"

"You reckon it'll be finished today?"

"It might be if we don't have any distractions" Rose smiled and looked around the room; it was fairly quiet apart from a few other animators working on their own projects. It was a peaceful, calm and quiet atmosphere, the perfect thing for animators.

"These voices are incredible" Artie said he listened to the voices through headphones in case they upset any other animators while they worked away.

"Thank you" Rose replied whilst blushing.

"You did them all?"

"Well there's only 2 or 3 and they're all girl voices so it was easy"

"You do voice over work too?"

"Well I had to make some sort of voices for the characters as my professor told me to, so I did and they just kinda stuck"

"They're amazing, you're wonderfully talented" Rose blushed as she looked at the screen again watching her characters move around the screen. "Right, now we know it plays smoothly, time to add more" Artie said as he opened the box up and took out the next block of papers which Rose had tied up and numbered so they were in order. They were both working away quietly but Rose groaned in frustration when the door suddenly flew open and in came Harriet, "Eugh men!" she shouted getting everybody to glare at her as she'd broken the peaceful silence. Harriet looked around the room and soon found Rose and walked over,

"Major problem" she whined making Rose frown,

"Kinda busy here Harriet"

"Oh come on I need to talk to you!"

"Okay fine but do it quietly, we're working here!"

"Seth tried to break up with me!"

"What do you mean tried?"

"He shouted at me and then said I'd never be his girlfriend" Rose just stared at Harriet; there was obviously another side to this story which she was blatantly covering up.

"So what did you do?"

"Well he shouted at me and so I just tried to work it out and said I'd see him tonight"

"Why what's happening tonight?" Artie asked watching Harriet fake dab tears from her eyes.

"Haven't you told him Rose?"

"Told me what?"

"I suggested we all go out on a double date!" Harriet said excitedly causing Artie to exchange quizzical looks with Rose. "I hadn't got round to it as I'm working" Rose said sternly turning around in her chair to return to work but Harriet span her around so she was facing her again.

"I think it'll be fun, the 4 of us bonding and having fun!"

"Err yeah… sounds great" Artie said causing Rose to glare at him.

"Oh goody this will be so much fun!" Harriet said excitedly again clapping her hands. "Well the dinner reservations are set for 7 but we can meet at mine if you like?"

"Yeah okay" Rose mumbled and then frowned, "Is Seth coming?"

"Of course he is" Harriet replied snappily causing Rose to just stare at her, something had obviously happened, as Harriet was acting more psychotic than normal. "He's gonna meet us at my apartment like you two are"

"Okay then we'll be there" Artie said cautiously as he watched Harriet acting strangely. But then he turned to face the door when it opened revealing a very flustered and moody looking Seth. "Afternoon Seth" Artie said cheerfully but Seth just looked at him and nodded in response.

"You alright?" Rose asked worriedly as she noticed Seth didn't look happy at all. "I'll be alright Rose," he said in response to Rose with a small smile, but that turned into a frown when he saw Harriet standing there. "Hi honey!" She said cheerfully trying to hug him but Seth didn't return it and just stood rooted to the spot.

"Harriet" is all he said and then tried to break free from her grip but she didn't budge.

"I was just telling Rose and Artie about our plans tonight"

"We have plans?"

"Yes I was talking to them about the dinner we've got planned for all 4 of us"

"Oh… well that won't be happening as I need to speak to Artie about something"

"What is it Seth?"

"I need a couple of writers and animators to take a trip for a couple of days"

"Oh, what for?"

"We're doing an episode of family guy involving some club scenes but some people are familiar with that atmosphere so I need some writers and animators to take a small trip up to New York to gain some club experience and I need you to supervise them"

"Okay Seth that doesn't sound like a problem"

Seth smiled and said, "I'm sorry it's short nice"

"It's alright, when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes"

"Okay then" Seth smiled again and said to Rose, "I'm sorry if you had anything planned"

"No it's alright" Rose said with a smile, "I've got Uni for the next couple days so I'll be busy anyway" Seth nodded and then said "So what brings you here today then?" Seth tried to hide his anger and Rose noticed he was acting strangely.

"Me and Artie were just putting together my animatic"

"Oh… you and Artie"

"Yes"

"Huh… that's… nice" Rose eyed Seth suspiciously, what had gotten into him today? He hadn't been moody all last week? What had changed?

"It's gonna take a long time but it's looking good so far" Rose replied but Seth seemed distant, "You wanna take a look?"

"No I gotta get moving" Seth suddenly snapped and Rose just looked at him feeling hurt, why take anger out on her? She hadn't done a damn thing wrong!

"Okay then, I'll see you round" Rose said and then sat back down and faced the screen hiding her hurt.

Artie just eyed Seth suspiciously and said, "Would that be all?" Seth realised he'd outstayed his welcome and said "Yes I'm done" then walked off to exit the room but Artie said "Seth I need to speak to you"

"What about?"

"Alone outside in private" then Artie proceeded forward and exited the room with Seth and shut the door.

"Wanna tell me what all that was about?" Artie nearly growled out as he stared at Seth. "What all what was about?"

"Being mean and moody with Rose, she hasn't done anything wrong!" Seth sighed and then said "Listen Artie"

"No you listen; Rose is a sweet young woman who hasn't done anything wrong. Yes I do my job properly and I listen to every word you say, but when you treat my friend like that I won't stand for it. Whatever crap you're dealing with don't take it out on others who don't deserve it, I will go to New York for you tomorrow but you better have cheered your sorry ass up by the time I get back" then Artie turned around and headed back inside the room leaving Seth standing there feeling a wide mix of emotions, the main one being guilt. He shouldn't have snapped at Rose like that, she was just being friendly to him.

What was wrong with him these days?

* * *

"You sure it looks alright?" Rose asked once they'd played the whole animatic seeing if there were any problems. "Yeah it's perfect, runs smoothly and there aren't any faults" Danny Smith replied getting Rose to smile. Danny had joined them along with Alec Sulkin and John Viener in the computer room and made a big fuss until Rose gave in and screened her animatic on the big screen in the room. "Yeah I agree, I think it's amazing and very funny" Alec replied with a smile getting Rose to blush slightly, she wasn't used to compliments like this.

"You really think so?"

"I know so" Alec replied

"Who did the voices?" John asked.

"I did"

"Really?"

"Yep"

"So you can draw and also do voiceovers?"

"Yep"

"Wow… it's like looking at a female Seth" Rose smiled but then looked down at the floor trying to hide her hurt again. What Seth had said really hurt, she was only trying to be friendly but he just snapped at her. Well maybe it was true what they said, you shouldn't meet your idols or favourite celebrities… they might just turn out to be complete dicks.

"Rose are you alright?" Artie asked when he noticed she went quiet at the sound of Seth's name.

"I'm alright" Rose replied with a weak smile causing the guys to frown.

"Yeah like we believe you" said Danny, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"You sure?"

"Yes"

"It's just you went quiet at the sound of Seth's name" Rose winced again at the sound of his name giving the game away completely, "See you're doing it again, so you might as well tell us what's wrong. Maybe we can help"

"It's just… he was a little snappy with me today and I was just surprised that's all"

"Seth's normally moody, it's a normal thing"

"But Danny I don't like it when people are moody and take their frustrations out on me" Rose had always hated it when people shouted at her, another fear that her mother had given her.

Artie realised that Rose was getting upset and said, "We understand sweetie but Seth can be like that sometimes"

"Well to be honest I've never seen him like this before" Alec said

"No me neither and I've known him for years" John replied.

"Well maybe it's to do with that little rat he's got hanging around him" Rose replied with a small frown, "Sometimes I think winning that competition was curse"

"Don't say that Rose, we wouldn't have met you if you hadn't of won"

"She basically invited herself when I won the competition"

"Didn't you say no she couldn't come?"

"No I didn't"

"Why not?"

"I've never been able to stand up for myself and voice my opinion to her"

"Well you better wake up and do it soon, Rose she walks all over you!"

"I know I know but I'm just afraid that's all"

"We can help you if you want, you seem to have come out of your shell a lot more since you've met us and maybe we can make you stronger so you can finally kick that girl's ass"

Rose laughed and said "I'll think about it"

All of the guys smiled and then Danny said "So who's up for a table tennis tournament?"

"Danny it's heading up to 6pm and we're starved!" Alec said with a small smile.

"Okay so we can get something to eat and then have some fun!" everybody laughed at Danny's strange excitement and soon agreed to his idea. "Rose you coming?" Artie asked with a smile making Rose nod and say "Yep count me in" Artie smiled and then led Rose out the door along with everybody else to go and start their evening full of fun.


	8. Chapter 8

Seth was walking around the Studios currently looking for Alex, he knew she was here this evening to do some voice recordings but she was nowhere to be found. "Spencer have you seen Alex?" Seth asked as he passed Spencer in the corridor, "She's down by the recording booths waiting for you"

"Okay thank you" Seth replied and then headed towards the recording booths. He needed to speak to her about everything; Alex had always been there for him and gave him help and advice. And right now he needed some advice and somebody to cheer him up.

Eventually Seth made it to the recording booths and saw Alex along with Alec, Danny, John, Artie and Rose all playing table tennis. They were laughing and having fun, which did make Seth smile slightly. But he needed to talk to Alex alone and in private.

"Evening Seth" Alex said with a smile but noticed Seth didn't look too happy, "Are you alright?"

"Alex can I speak to you alone please?"

"Sure" Then Alex left the gang to go and speak to Seth in private. He led her into the conference room and slid the door open and stepped inside.

"Seth what's wrong?" Alex said once the door was closed and they were both sitting down in chairs.

"Everything" Seth replied and sighed deeply.

"Okayyy… but start with the thing that's bothering you most"

"I think I'm falling for Rose" Alex just sat there wide-eyed and Seth stared down at the floor.

"You're what?"

"I'm crazy about her, we've got everything in common, she's beautiful both inside and out, and I really connect with her"

"But- but what- or even why I should say, are you with Harriet then?"

"I'm not with her, I never was"

"So what have you been doing with her then?"

"She was just a good lay"

"Is that what you're going to do with Rose?" Alex said icily, "Because if you hurt her-"

"No Alex that's not what I'm doing"

"Then what are you doing exactly?"

"There's nothing I can do, Rose is with Artie now" Seth scowled and stared at the floor making Alex smirk… Seth was… jealous?

"Why are you smirking? Alex this isn't funny" Seth said after noticing Alex grinning from ear to ear,

"I know what it is that's wrong"

"What is it?"

"You're jealous"

Seth made a noise and said, "I so am not"

"Yes you are, it makes sense now… the hard stares whenever they're together, the moodiness, the arguments, it all makes sense now"

"You don't know what you're talking about"

"You keep giving Artie cold stares and what's with sending him to New York? Is it a plot to keep him away from Rose for a couple days?" Seth was about to respond but couldn't find any words to say, was he jealous? Rose was always in his head lately and no matter what he did he couldn't get her out.

"See it's finally sunk in" Alex said with a small smile as she noticed the look of realisation on Seth's face. "But I'm never one to get jealous" Seth said as he rubbed his forehead from tiredness and stress.

"It's okay Seth, it's a perfectly normal feeling to have just as long as you don't go overboard and start firing people"

"How'd you mean?"

"Don't fire Artie just because he's dating Rose, he's a wonderful asset to this company"

"No I wouldn't do that"

"Good"

"But seeing them together just really-"

"Well why didn't you speak to her on the first day we met her?"

"I tried to but I got tongue tied plus with Harriet constantly dancing around me I didn't have a chance" Alex frowned as she remembered that. She also remembered the conversation she had with Rose in the car park; Harriet was full of jealously and hated everything Rose had that she didn't.

"Well she's not exactly made herself popular" Alex replied making Seth stare at her,

"I know I can see it now, she's just a pain in the ass"

"She's more than that"

"As in what exactly?"

"I'm gonna leave you to figure that out, anyway I wanna get these recordings out the way so I can get home to my son"

"Okay we can get stared now"

"But I meant what I said though Seth, you have to control this and make sure you don't end up hurting anybody, especially Rose"

"I won't I promise"

"Good, now let's get started" Alex got up from her chair and headed out of the conference room to the recording booths. She chanced a glance at Rose who seemed happy as Artie wrapped his arms around her and smiled. They were both happy together which made this situation difficult, Seth really seemed hung up on Rose and she was completely oblivious to it, Harriet was still stalking Seth and now throwing Artie into the mix was getting too much.

"Oh boy" is all Alex said to herself as she stepped into the booth to record her voice. She hoped that things would get better otherwise there'd be a lot of problems coming their way in the future.

* * *

It reached 11pm when Rose finally headed home, it had been an amazing day but she really needed to get some sleep to be ready for her classes tomorrow. Artie had offered to walk her home but she refused and said she'd be all right. Yet he wouldn't quit so he arranged for a cab to drop her home and he paid the fair.

"He's so sweet" Rose said as she opened the door to her dorm room and stepped inside. She closed the door and instantly knew there was something different, the TV was on and her room looked a mess. "Oh man please don't say I've been robbed" Rose said to herself as she headed into the living room to see what the damage was. But she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Harriet asleep on her couch surrounded by empty food packets. What the hell was she doing here! Rose could feel anger deep inside and all she could see was red, she had finally snapped as this was definitely crossing the line. She got a hold of the door and slammed it as hard as she could causing a huge bang making Harriet stir and wake up.

She sat up on the couch and saw Rose "Oh finally you're home"

"What the HELL are you doing here in my dorm!"

"I just dropped in to see if you were home"

"And so you decided to stick around and eat all of my food?!"

"I was just waiting for you"

"How the hell did you even get in here?!"

"I used the spare key"

"You said you gave that back to me last week!"

"Jeez stop shouting"

"Stop ruining my life!" Rose was so angry now she was shaking, she had enough now, Harriet seriously needed to be told and gotten rid of.

"I'm not ruining your life"

"Yes you are! Ever since we first met you were always putting me down, saying nasty spiteful comments and just laughing it off! I trusted you with personal secrets and even told you about my past, but all you've done is tell everybody about it and made me look dumb!"

"I haven't told anybody anything honeybee"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Rose screamed causing Harriet to stare at her wide-eyed. "You told EVERYBODY from Family Guy that I was beaten when I was younger! That was a personal secret that belongs in the past; I don't want everybody to know about it!"

"I only told a few people"

"There were 25 people at that dinner and you told every single one!"

"It just slipped out"

"You're driving me insane, using all of these men and sleeping around with everybody! And now you're using Seth!"

"I'm not using him! I love that man!"

"You don't even know what love is!"

"Neither do you!"

"I know it well enough to know that you don't use men for sex! You care about them and try and give them the world!"

"I am doing that with Seth!"

"You're so full of shit! I cannot believe I called you my best friend; you're nothing to me! You're hurt me in more ways possible throughout these past 2 weeks! I NEVER wanted you to come with me when I won that competition"

"You didn't?"

"No! You invited yourself"

"But I thought-"

"You thought nothing! You invited yourself and completely ruined everything!"

"But-"

"Oh save the crap and just get the hell out of my dorm room! And don't even bother trying to speak to me ever again!" Rose shouted and Harriet just looked stunned and didn't budge, "You heard me! Get the hell out!" Rose shouted again and this time Harriet walked towards the door still looking stunned at Rose's anger outburst. Rose opened the door for her and Harriet stepped out and then turned around to try and speak. But before she could, Rose slammed the door shut with force and then locked it. She was still shaking with anger but suddenly felt so much happier, she did it! She just stuck up for herself!

"I did it" Rose said shakily as she took deep breaths to calm her anger. "I finally did it!" Rose said excitedly as she headed into the living room to find her cell phone, she had to tell Artie. She found her phone and dialled his number and waited for him to pick up,

"Hello?"

"I did it!" Rose squealed in excitement and laughed at Artie's confusion.

"Rose?"

"Yeah it's me"

"You did what?"

"I stuck up for myself!"

"What?"

"Yeah Harriet was here and I finally told her the truth and shouted at her!"

"Oh wow way to go you!"

"I know it was amazing!"

"I'm proud of you Rose"

"Thank you, I'm sorry if I disturbed you"

"Nah it's alright, I've just got home and I'm heading to bed to get ready for New York tomorrow"

"Oh yeah I forgot you're going there"

"You could always come with me"

"I can't I've got classes at Uni"

"That's a shame; I could have done with some company"

"What's he sending you there for anyway? I heard some details but I wasn't sure"

"Well you were in the room when he mentioned going to clubs"

"Yeah that was weird; why not go to clubs in LA?"

"I've got no idea, it's just Seth's orders and we go by what he says"

"Fair enough, anyway I'll let you go now so you can get some sleep"

"Okay babe I'll definitely speak to you every chance I get, I won't forget you"

Rose smiled and said "Okay I'll be thinking of you anyway"

"I'll be thinking of you more"

Rose giggled and said "Okay I'll see you soon"

"Later honey sweet dreams"

"Night night sweet dreams" then Rose hung up and threw her phone on the couch and smiled. She felt SO much happier now that she stuck up for herself, everything seemed clearer and she felt stronger. "Maybe I can stand up to that bitch in my animation class now too!" Rose said excitedly and then laughed to herself, laugher felt good and she promised herself that she would be doing much more of it from now on.

* * *

"Another day, another assignment" Rose said to herself as she packed up her papers as her class had finished. The professor dismissed them and Rose was happy as that had been her last class and now she was free. She was looking forward to her afternoon as one of her older friends Amy had called her asking to baby-sit for a while. So she agreed to it and was looking forward to spending time with her two favourite kids. Rose smiled to herself as she exited the Uni and headed down the streets towards her dorm.

But as she walked she heard a familiar voice "Hey there little cowgirl" she turned around and saw her best friend Jamie standing in the doorway of his bar. "Hey cowboy" Rose replied as she walked up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Don't see you round very often anymore" Jamie said making Rose smile slightly.

"Kinda been busy with Uni projects"

"How are they going now?"

"Really good, I've finished one and it's ready to be sent out to different companies"

"Well more power to you little lady"

Rose smiled and said, "How's the old bar doing?"

"Business as usual"

"Loads of customers?"

"Yeah it's become really popular since you helped advertise it"

"A bar that plays country music, has pool tables and everything in between deserves to be popular" Jamie smiled widely at Rose, she'd been so helpful over the years. They were best friends until Jamie graduated from Uni and then opened his own bar, but they still kept in touch.

"So you heading down here tonight? It's the usual country music hoedown so you should swing by"

"Yeah I'd like that"

"I'd definitely have the first dance" Rose laughed making Jamie smile, "Okay then cowboy you better keep that promise"

Jamie nodded and said "Will do little lady"

"Anyway I better shoot, I'm babysitting for Amy"

"Well have fun, I'll see you tonight around 7ish?"

"I'll be there" Rose replied and then bid Jamie goodbye to head back to her dorm room. Things seemed to be picking up and getting better and better, this was going to be an interesting day!

* * *

"Charlotte can you say Rose?" Rose asked the little girl sitting in front of her. "Ro" is all she got out and then giggled making Rose smile. For the past hour Rose had been looking after Charlotte and Jack for her old friend Amy. Just like Jamie, Amy had been in her last year of Uni when she met Rose. They clicked and soon became good friends and Amy always let Rose baby sit and take the kids out. Charlotte being 2 and Jack being just 3 months old, Rose didn't have a problem with them. She loved children and seemed to have a natural gift looking after them without them crying.

Rose had taken them to the park and they were sitting under a tree in the shade playing and having fun. Jack was still asleep which gave Rose more time to try and get Charlotte to speak and say more words.

"Can you say tree?" Rose asked Charlotte who smiled and said "Twee"

"Good girl!" Rose said happily at Charlotte who smiled widely again. "Do you want a drink Charlotte?" Rose asked getting out Charlotte bottle full of water, "Yes pwease" Charlotte replied getting Rose to smile again. Hearing a child speak properly for the first time was a beautiful thing, Rose loved children and wondered if she'd ever have any herself. But Rose was snapped from her thoughts when she heard small crying and whimpering noises from Jack in the stroller.

"Sounds like your brother is awake, don't move sweetie" Rose said to Charlotte who smiled and continued playing with her toys whilst Rose quickly turned around to un strap Jack from the stroller. "Hello beautiful" Rose murmured as she lifted Jack up and brought him over to where Charlotte was playing on the blanket. "Did you have a good sleep?" Rose said to Jack who gurgled in response and continued sucking on his fingers. Rose put him on her shoulder and rubbed his back as a comfort as he kept on whimpering.

"Rose?" Came a voice that made her look up in surprise.

"Seth?" Rose said surprised as she saw Seth standing next to the blanket. "Would you mind sitting down? The sun makes it difficult to see"

"Oh yes sorry" Seth replied and then slowly sat himself down next to Charlotte who just looked at him and smiled.

"Charlotte this is Seth, can you say Seth?" Rose said to Charlotte who said "Seff"

"Close enough" Rose replied making Seth smile,

"Well isn't she gorgeous, I didn't know you had children"

"Nahh I'm just babysitting for my old friend, she's outta town for a couple hours so I said I'd watch the kids"

"And who's that little man on your shoulder?"

"This is Jack, he's 3 months older and this is Charlotte who's just 2 years"

"They're both gorgeous and well behaved I must say"

"Are you familiar with kids?"

"Not properly but I've been around and seen some parents with kids who are just screaming and crying"

"Oh… well these two are well behaved, they won't be a problem" Seth just smiled but was taken by surprise when Charlotte stood up and kissed him on the cheek and giggled. "Yeah she's very affectionate" Rose said with a smile as she watched Charlotte take a liking to Seth. "Wanna hold Jack for a while?"

Seth looked uneasy and said "I'm not sure"

"He won't hurt you, he's been changed and by the feel of it he's fallen back to sleep"

"Only if you're sure" Rose smiled and then gently scooted over to Seth and gently moved Jack and gave him to Seth, who looked like a natural. He held him properly and Rose smiled when Jack snuggled closer to Seth in his sleep and smiled. "Wow you're suddenly popular" Seth smiled and said "He's gorgeous" Rose smiled as she played with Charlotte whilst Seth held Jack.

"So how come you're in the park? I thought you got recognised everywhere you go?"

"I do sometimes but only on the streets, whereas here I don't"

"Oh"

"Plus it's handy only doing voiceover work; if I was actually on live TV then I wouldn't be able to leave my house"

"That must be awful"

"I couldn't imagine it, I like not being recognised. It gives me freedom to do what I want without being chased by paparazzi and getting my head in the papers everyday" Rose sympathised with Seth and stroked his arm, "It must be difficult"

"It is yeah" Rose realised she was touching Seth's arm and then quickly pulled away and looked back down at Charlotte who was currently drawing on some paper. She was choosing different colours and drawing and squiggling different things on the paper. "Who's this for sweetie?" Rose asked Charlotte who smiled and said "Seff" Rose laughed and said "Well I'm sure Seff will like it" Seth smirked and then looked at Charlotte who held up the paper for him to take, "Thank you honey" Seth said making Charlotte giggle.

"Aww you've got a little crush"

"I think she may be my youngest fan" Rose laughed and looked at Seth whilst he was looking at Jack sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. Being here with him felt right but somehow felt very wrong at the same time.

"I heard what you did last night" Seth said suddenly snapping Rose from her thoughts.

"What?"

"About you standing up to Harriet"

"You heard that?"

"Yeah I had Harriet phone me (Rose scowled) and she was crying so you shouted at her"

"You angry?"

"No actually I'm proud of you"

"You are?"

"Yeah I'm glad somebody shut her up and put her in her place"

"Oh"

"She deserved it" Rose smiled sheepishly at that; she didn't know it would make her popular.

"You still haven't explained why you're actually in the park," Rose said after a few moments of silence between them.

"I love being outside, it makes me happier and plus it's a beautiful day"

"So what's exactly happening with you and Harriet?"

"Questions questions questions with you today isn't it?" Seth replied and smiled when Rose blushed slightly.

"I was just curious"

"We're not together; I don't think we ever were"

"Did you like her?"

"At first I did yeah but after the first couple days had passed she became clingy and psycho, going crazy about my work schedule"

"That bad huh?"

"Just a little bit. So… you and Artie huh?"

"Yeah we're sort of dating, he's just really sweet" Seth smiled and tried to hide the jealously, he remembered what Alex had said last night and tried to push it deep down so it couldn't be felt.

"Have you heard from him today?"

"No not yet but I'm not expecting a call, if he wants to talk then it's up to him" Seth smiled at her consideration and said "So you got anything planned for tonight?"

"Well I'm taking these two back at 4, then I've gotta get ready as I'm going out tonight"

"Mind if I ask where?"

"My friend Jamie has got a bar downtown called Redneckville and he invited me down"

"I've heard of that before"

"It's a good bar you should come down some time"

"I plan to" Seth said with a smile and then said, "It's too hot, wanna go and get a drink or an ice cream?"

"Yeah sure that'd be nice"

"My treat"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes of course"

"Thank you"

"My pleasure" Seth said with a smile causing Rose to blush and look down at the floor, "What's wrong? My gorgeous smile causing you to blush?"

"Now who's bigheaded?"

"I'm just quoting you, you did say my smile was gorgeous" Seth teased causing Rose to playfully narrow her eyes at him, "Now you can buy me a drink AND an ice cream for that" Seth laughed and then said "My pleasure" Rose smiled and then slowly stood up and said to Charlotte "Want some ice cream?"

"Yes pwease" Charlotte replied and then Rose said "Okay let's start packing your toys up and then we can go for a walk" Charlotte giggled with happiness and then helped Rose pack all the toys and push them under the stroller, "You want me to put him back in or are you okay with him?" Rose asked Seth who had managed to stand up whilst still holding Jack.

"You can put him back if you like" Seth replied as he stared at the small baby on his shoulder.

"I'm just thinking of you that's all, if anybody saw us they'd have a field day telling the paparazzi"

"Good point" Seth replied then gently handed Jack back to Rose who put him back in the stroller and strapped him in. Charlotte then walked up to Seth and took his hand "Walk pwease?" is all she said causing Seth to smile and say to Rose "What does that mean?"

"She wants to walk with you"

"Oh okay" Seth replied then waited for Rose to start pushing the stroller with Jack inside before setting off with Charlotte to get some ice cream. Rose smiled to herself; so far this day had been pretty interesting, how would tonight turn out though?


	9. Chapter 9

"Shoot where are my keys? Why do I always do this when I'm running late!" Rose said to herself as she tore her living room apart looking for her keys to lock her room up. She was currently running late and this was not what she needed. It was heading up to 7pm and she really needed to get moving, as Jamie would be waiting for her. Rose had dressed as a cowgirl with her cowboy boots, denim mini skirt and black vest; the only thing that was missing was her hat.

"Finally!" Rose said as she came across her keys buried beneath her couch cushions, how they got there she'll never know. "Time to go" Rose said as she grabbed her bag and then heading out the door. The bar was only a couple of streets away so it wouldn't take long for her to get there.

"Okay people are staring at me," Rose mumbled to herself as she walked down the street noticing people were staring at her, some even catcalled and whistled at her. "This is weird" Rose just smiled as she headed down the street swinging her arms freely as she walked. The sun was setting in the sky and the streets were slowly coming alive with the nightlife crowds of party people making Rose smile.

"Here at last" Rose said as she stood outside the bar and smiled when she saw how crowded it was. It had become a very popular place and Rose was proud of Jamie for being so successful with his life.

"Ooo someone looks gorgeous" Rose smiled as she stood at the bar and said,

"Thanks Michelle, so do you"

Michelle just smiled and said, "What can I get ya?"

"Just a coke please"

"You not drinking honey?"

"Nahh not yet"

"Well I think that'll change soon"

"Why'd you say that?"

"Can you not see how many guys are checking you out?"

"They are?"

"Honey are you blind?"

"I'm just not used to it that's all"

"Well you've certainly dressed yourself up tonight, you look amazing" Rose felt herself blushing at Michelle's kind words, she really looked that nice?

"Ahh there's my girl!" Jamie said once he spotted Rose sitting at the bar sipping her coke.

"Hey Jamie" Rose replied with a warm smile making Jamie smile and say, "You look gorgeous"

"Thank you"

"You've got plenty of men wanting you"

"I know I told her the same thing," Michelle added in as she was drying some glasses up, "But our young Rose can't see it"

"Really Rose? You can't see all of the men you've charmed?"

"I haven't really looked to be honest" Rose replied as she chewed on her straw and chanced a glance around the crowded room. There were indeed plenty of people staring at her with smiles on their faces. "Oh" is all Rose said making Jamie laugh, "We've got a lot to teach you" is all he said getting Rose to smile sheepishly at him in return.

"So little lady, care to dance?"

"Can I choose the song?"

"Of course you can, Paul is just setting up so go and ask him for a request" Rose nodded and then hopped off her stool to go and give her song request to Paul.

* * *

"Mike where are we going?" Seth asked as he and Mike Henry walked down the streets together, they'd finished up at work and decided to go and have some fun. But Mike was leading Seth down loads of streets and not stopping once, "Just a little further" Mike replied and smiled when Seth looked around and recognised where he was.

"Why are we down here?" Seth asked as he noticed he wasn't too far from Rose's apartment block.

"There's a great bar down here"

"That wouldn't be Redneckville would it?"

"Yeah how'd you know?"

"Rose mentioned it"

"Oh, is she here tonight then?"

"Think so" Mike then smirked widely and Seth said "Come on man you weren't planning this the whole time were you?"

"No not at all"

"I don't believe you" Mike just laughed as they crossed the street and stood outside the bar.

"You coming in or weaselling out?" Mike asked Seth who took a deep breath and said "Okay I'll come in"

"Look at it this way, hot chicks in cowboy boots… you're bound to find some action!" Seth just rolled his eyes as they walked into the bar, maybe there were hot chicks but all he wanted was Rose. She wasn't just some hot chick; she was beautiful with a beautiful personality and a positive outlook on life.

"Wow this place is packed" Mike said over the music which was currently playing, everybody was dancing and having fun on the dance floor, some were playing pool and others were hanging out at the bar.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Jack on the rocks" Seth replied to Mike who nodded and then headed up to the bar to get some drinks. Seth looked around and smiled at all of the friendly people dancing and having fun. But he couldn't help but think of Rose, was she here? And if so, where would she be?

Soon his questions were answered when the DJ said "Alright we've got a few little song requests from the lovely amazing Rose Daniels" The room erupted in cheers as _**Shania Twain- No one needs to know**_ started playing loudly. Everybody started dancing and swaying to the music whilst singing along loudly.

That's when Seth managed to catch a glimpse of Rose dancing around the room with another man. She looked incredible! Wearing a cowboy hat and a mini skirt so short it showed off her tanned long legs.

"Seth? Yoo-hoo Seth got your drink here!" Came Mike's voice making Seth tear his eyes away from Rose.

"What?"

"Drink" Mike replied holding Seth's shot of Jack, "Sorry buddy, got distracted"

"Who you checking out?"

"Her" Seth pointed to Rose who was smiling and laughing as she turned and swayed on the dance floor,

"Man she's gorgeous! You know her?"

"It's Rose" Mike spat his drink out causing Seth to jolt and step backwards to avoid being sprayed with spit.

"What?" Mike choked out, "That's Rose?"

"Yup"

"She's gorgeous!"

"She always looks gorgeous, but tonight she's…" Seth trailed off as he couldn't explain how he was feeling, Rose had certainly used her charm tonight, whether she knew it or not. Seth was a goner and there was no bringing him back now.

* * *

"You move pretty well Rose" Jamie said over the music and smiled when Rose laughed as he twirled her round and round.

"It's been ages since I've done this!" Rose said happily as she listened to the lyrics of the song,

_I want bells to ring, a choir to sing_  
_The white dress, the guests, the cake, the car, the whole darn thing_  
_But no one needs to know right now_

_I'll tell him someday some way somehow_  
_But I'm gonna keep it a secret for now_

This was one of her favourite country songs and she'd also requested 3 more songs to Paul who gladly said he'd play them all. Jamie twirled her around the dance floor making her laugh and smile; she hadn't smiled this much in ages. Jamie laughed as the cowboy hat he'd given Rose slipped down so it covered her eyes a little, "You crazy thing"

"It's not my fault it keeps slipping down!" Rose replied with a laugh as she tightened the string up to stop it from falling down anymore. She tucked her hair behind her ears and then carried on dancing with Jamie. But what he said surprised her, "Somebody keeps looking at you"

"Who? Where?"

"Over there" Jamie then twirled Rose around so she could catch a glimpse of the mystery man checking her out. But she fumbled and nearly slipped when she realised it was Seth looking at her. Dressed in denim jeans and a black shirt he looked gorgeous, her kind of cowboy indeed!

"Oh man I know him"

"Who is it little lady?"

"Seth MacFarlane"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah"

"Oh man that's amazing, a famous person in my bar"

"Yeah that is amazing"

"How do you know him?"

"I won a competition to tour the studios he works in"

"Really? That's amazing!"

"It was awesome"

"So how come he still hangs out with you?"

"I ask myself that question every night Jamie"

"I didn't mean it like that, surely he's busy?"

"That's what I thought but he just seems to pop up wherever I go, like I saw him earlier today"

"Man he's really digging you"

"Nah he's with-" Rose trailed off and then scowled,

"Ooo that's a nasty look, what's wrong?"

"Remember Harriet?"

"How could I forget"

"He was or I think still is, dating her"

"Are you seriously kidding me?"

"Nope"

"Eww" Rose laughed and Jamie smiled as he said "Well I think you deserve another dance" Rose then smiled as another favourite song of hers came on, "You've certainly chosen some good songs little lady" Jamie said as he spun Rose around to the fast paced song,

"Glad you approve" Rose replied as she then sang along to the song,

_Well that's all right, that's OK._  
_If you don't feel important, Honey,_  
_All I've got to say is_

_To the world_  
_You may be just another girl_  
_But to me_  
_Baby, you are the world_

"Brad Paisley a favourite of yours?" Jamie asked with a smile making Rose nod and say "One of the best"

"Of course"

"He's still looking at you, you know"

"He is?"

"Yeah"

"Well what should I do?"

"Ask him to dance maybe?"

"I don't know, it'll be weird"

"Why?"

"I'm kinda seeing someone"

"So? Rose that doesn't mean you can't have some fun"

"I don't think he's big on dancing anyway"

"Never know until you try" Rose sighed and then quickly glanced over at Seth who was slowly moving to the music whilst talking to Mike. But he looked over at her and smiled making Rose smile, blush and then look away. Why was his smile infectious? And he looked so damn gorgeous! Too much temptation!

* * *

"Boy she's really distracted since she's seen you" Mike said as he sipped his drink making Seth smirk slightly,

"She looks gorgeous and she seems like a pretty good dancer"

"Go and ask her to dance then"

"With my two left feet? Mike I'll be tripping all over the place!"

"No harm in trying"

"The music is too fast"

"Excuses excuses" Mike replied getting a glare off Seth in return. But then Seth continued watching Rose dance round the room and listened to the lyrics of the song. Seth honestly had no interest in Country music but the lyrics seemed to describe things he was feeling deep inside,

_To the world_  
_You may be just another girl_  
_But to me_  
_Baby, you are the world_

Seth smiled at those lyrics as they seemed so true to him, Rose was his world and he wanted her to share it with him, let him into her life and be there forever. But then he remembered she was with Artie and then frowned, why did he keep forgetting about that? The closer he got to Rose he always had to take 2 steps back because of Artie. Maybe Alex was right… he was becoming jealous about it.

"Look alive Seth" Mike said to Seth getting him to snap out of his daze and say "What?"

"Rose is heading your way" Seth looked and saw that Rose was indeed heading towards him looking incredibly shy.

"Hey" she said quietly and looked down at the floor,

"Evening Rose" Mike said cheerfully.

"How come you two are down here?"

"It's one of my favourite bars and I just dragged Seth with me"

"You gonna speak to me then?" Rose said to Seth with a small smile as she noticed Seth looking out of place and lost for words.

"So-sorry Rose just got a little distracted"

"That's okay"

"Would you like a drink?"

"Nah I'm good for now, you wanna dance?"

"With my two left feet you'd regret it"

"Nah it'd be alright, we can both make fools of ourselves" Rose replied and held out her hand for Seth to take. He slowly stood up and took her hand and then she led him onto the dance floor and smiled when another song started playing,

_First I get cold and hot,  
Think I'm on fire, but I'm not.  
Oh, what a pain I've got,  
It must be love_

"Hey you're not bad" Rose said as Seth slowly started to dance with her, at first Rose panicked when she realised she'd be pressed up against him. But then when he started twirling her round she soon forgot about her worries, "I've got some experience but not much"

"Not a big dancer then?"

"Nope and never will be"

"Really?"

"Well I did do a little tap dancing" Rose missed her step and stumbled and started laughing,

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah" Seth replied and smiled when Rose laughed again and said "Oh man you've gotta show me one day"

"Maybe one day yeah" Rose smiled again and carried on dancing to the music,

_There's nothing I can do,_  
_All that I want is you._  
_Look what I'm going through,_  
_It must be love_

_It must be love, it must be love._  
_I fall like a sparrow and fly like a dove._  
_You must be the dream I been dreaming of,_  
_Oh what a feeling, it must be love_

"I like this song" Seth said getting Rose to smile,

"You like country music then?"

"Not really no"

"Oh"

"Why?"

"Nothing, it just seems that whatever I like you seem to dislike"

"That's not true"

"It so is, you don't like country music"

"I never said that, I just haven't listened to it before" Rose just glared at him playfully making Seth smile.

_Something is wrong or right,_  
_I think of you all night._  
_Can't sleep 'til morning light,_  
_It must be love_

_Seeing you in my dreams,_  
_Holding you close to me._  
_Oh, what else can it be?_  
_It must be love_

Seth smiled as he listened to the lyrics and felt they were perfect for this situation. He was holding Rose close to him and the lyrics were about love, he was definitely falling for this girl and he couldn't stop himself.

_It must be love, it must be love._  
_I fall like a sparrow and fly like a dove._  
_You must be the dream I been dreaming of_  
_Oh what a feeling, it must be love._

The song ended and everybody cheered and applauded, "You're a good dancer" Rose said as Seth twirled her round one more time and then stood at his full height. He was taller than her and it made him look more powerful and stronger. "Alright we're gonna slow it down now, so grab yourselves a partner and enjoy the song" the DJ said down the microphone and then started playing a slow song.

"Care to dance again?" Seth asked Rose who smiled but looked nervous as Seth slowly stepped forward and put her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist. Then he slowly started swaying with her listening to the lyrics,

_I know that the bridges that I've burned  
Along the way  
Have left me with these walls and these scars  
That won't go away  
And opening up has always been the hardest thing  
Until you came_

_So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go  
This feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known  
And I just can't take my eyes off you  
And I just can't take my eyes off you_

Rose smiled as she looked up at Seth as she loved this song, the lyrics were beautiful. "You alright?" Seth murmured as he noticed Rose looked dreamy and in her own world, "I'm wonderful" Rose replied making Seth smile. This song was amazing and it was certainly true, he just couldn't keep his eyes off Rose. He was trying so hard to control himself but the urge to kiss her was getting too strong.

_I love when you tell me that I'm pretty  
When I just woke up  
And I love how you tease me when I'm moody  
But it's always enough  
I'm falling fast and the truth is I'm not scared at all  
You broke my walls_

_So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_  
_This feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known_  
_And I just can't take my eyes off you_  
_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

"I can't take my eyes off you Rose" Seth murmured as he leant his forehead against hers "You're beautiful" Rose let out a shaky breath as she stared into Seth's eyes. He was gorgeous and she could see something in his eyes that she'd never seen before, love? Lust? Who knows, damn her for not having relationship experience.

"I'd love to lie next to you Rose, whispering sweet things into your ear" Seth murmured again making Rose shudder; he was so tempting and driving her crazy inside. She felt giddy and the butterflies in her tummy were getting too much, the urge to kiss him was getting stronger.

_So lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_  
_Oh... this feelin' I'm feelin' is somethin' I've never known_  
_And I just can't take my eyes of you_  
_And I just can't take my eyes of you_

Seth lost all control and had to kiss her, she was driving him crazy and her perfume lingered on his clothes. Rose was staring up at him confused and was blushing a new shade of pink, but was taken by surprise when Seth lowered his lips to hers. They lingered there for a moment before he pressed them lightly against hers. Rose tensed for a moment but then relaxed as Seth put a little more pressure on and held her tighter to him. This was Rose's very first kiss and it felt amazing! But then she remembered Artie; he was sweet, kind and caring and thought the world of her. She was happy with him and was happy with where their friendship was heading. So what was she doing kissing Seth?! Rose pulled away from Seth and said "No" making Seth look at her, "I can't do this, I can't"

"Rose wait-"

"No I can't do this, I gotta go" Rose then quickly walked away from him, and headed for the door. She needed to get away from him and fast.

* * *

"Oh man I can't believe it" Rose said as she got to her dorm room and realised she'd left her bag in the bar. Her door was locked and it was too late to get a key from the landlord and Harriet still hadn't given the other spare key back. "Why me?" Rose said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She felt too emotional to think straight so she'd ran from the bar not picking up her bag.

"Why did you do this to me?" Rose cried as she wiped her face from the tears again, Seth had stolen her first kiss and left her confused and a mess.

"Rose" came a voice behind her making her turn around with blurry watery eyes. "You left this"

"What do you want?" Rose asked once she realised who it was,

"You took off in such a hurry you left your bag behind" Seth then held up her bag and said "Do you know how weird I looked walking down the street with this"

"Stop trying to make this funny"

"I get nervous in awkward situations and make jokes"

"Well this isn't funny Seth"

"I'm sorry okay"

"You shouldn't have done that"

"I couldn't help it"

"Why?"

"Because-"

"You've confused me Seth, you stole my first kiss and I don't even know how you feel"

"I-"

"You were with Harriet and I'm with Artie, you seem to forget that"

"Listen okay-"

"Just tell me the truth" Seth then stepped forward and Rose tried to back away but she ran out of corridor and backed into her door. Seth stepped closer and soon he was face to face with her and suddenly had to kiss her again. So he did, he kissed her on the lips a little more passionate this time but again Rose pulled away, "Stop it"

"I can't help it"

"Why?"

"I'm crazy about you Rose"

"I'm with Artie"

"You're amazing"

"But-"

"And you're beautiful"

"But-"

"I can't get you out of my head"

"Listen-"

"I couldn't see what was in front of me and I chose the wrong one, it's you I want and I won't stop until I have you"

"Seth please I'm with Artie and we're really getting close"

"I can see it in your eyes Rose"

"What can you see?"

"That you like me too"

"Seth I don't know what I want or what it even feels like to like someone"

"Rose-"

"Seriously Seth I'm with Artie, I'm happy with him"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes"

"You want Artie?"

"Yes we're happy together, when he's back from New York we're spending more time together" Seth just looked down at the floor and Rose was trying to fight back tears. She really liked Artie and wanted to develop a relationship with him, yes Seth was gorgeous and amazing but he wasn't right for her.

"Please just go" Rose whispered.

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes"

"You sure?"

"Yes" Seth sighed and said "Okay I'll go"

"Thank you"

"See you round then" Rose couldn't bear to watch him go, as much as she wanted him to; she still felt awful seeing the pain on his face. She quickly picked her bag up, found her keys, opened the door and stepped inside. Then she shut the door, locked it and let the tears finally fall, she just had to turn down Seth MacFarlane! The guy she idolised and adored for years just admitted he liked her, but she turned him away! Women all over the world would be screaming at her right now, but she made her decision, it was Artie she liked and Artie who she wanted right now.

"I'm happy with him," Rose said as she grabbed some tissues to wipe her eyes from the tears. Her make-up was smudged and smeared but she didn't care, she was home and nobody else was around. "It's Artie who I want" Rose tried to smile but couldn't quite get there; she was confused and tired and needed some sleep. Once again she had classes tomorrow at Uni and needed to focus. So Rose dragged her feet as she headed towards her bedroom, maybe in the morning she would feel better because right now happiness was something that seemed out of reach.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a week since Rose last saw Seth at the bar and it had certainly been a productive week. Artie had returned from New York and had spent the week making it up to her for being away for so long. He'd brought her flowers, chocolates and even sent her gifts to her dorm room. He was being so sweet to her it was unreal. But even though they'd been happy together, Rose still hadn't told him about what happened with Seth whilst he was away. It was still fresh on her mind and driving her crazy, why did he have to kiss her like that? After all she said about being with Artie!

"Stop doing this to yourself" Rose said as she stretched on the floor, throughout the past week she'd been reading into ways of reducing stress and relaxing. And then she stumbled onto a website that said that stretching was a good way to relax. So she decided to try it and realised it came in handy during stressful times. And this week had certainly been stressful; she'd slowly started getting addresses for different companies so she could send her student film out to them. Then when she graduated Uni she would have a secured job at the end of it.

Artie had been encouraging her as well, which she was grateful of. But she didn't really appreciate him saying he'd spoken to some management at FOX to help her get a job there. She appreciated his kindness but she needed to do this herself without people thinking she'd slept her way to the top.

Along with stressful career moves, Rose was finding it strange that she hadn't heard from Harriet. Ever since she'd shouted at her and stood up for herself, she hadn't heard a peep out of Harriet. Normally she'd forget about it the next day and go back to her normal selfish ways, but this time was different. And Rose had a feeling that it was all to do with a plot of some sort. But pushing that aside, Rose continued stretching on the floor.

"Eugh can I not have any time alone?" Rose grumbled as someone was knocking on her door, "It's open!" she called as she couldn't be bothered to get off the floor. The door opened and Rose smiled when she heard Artie's voice "Rose? Are you in here?"

"In the living room" Rose replied and then she heard Artie come into the room.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"What are you doing down there?"

"Just stretching"

"A thing you do often?"

"I only just started this week, it helps to relieve stress"

"How come you're stressed?"

"Just Uni work"

"Are you nervous about your student film?"

"Yeah pretty much"

"Is it that bad?"

"I'm just worried in case I get rejected by everybody"

"They'll love it when it's finished"

"Well it still needs to be coloured but I haven't found a place yet"

"If I speak to Seth and pull a few strings, it could be shipped off to Korea along with our boxes"

"Oh no I couldn't ask for that"

"Why not?"

"Because that'd be too much hassle"

"It wouldn't honestly, Seth would be okay with it… he likes you" Rose flinched at that but Artie didn't see. He had no idea what had happened with her and Seth and it made Rose feel awful keeping it from him. But telling him would ruin everything and she'd be left hurt, but then Artie would remain a fool making Rose feel guilty.

"Rose? You still with me?"

"Sorry Artie, just got lost in thought"

"So are you gonna agree to it? Seth honestly wouldn't mind if you sent it to Korea"

"Well…only if you're 100% certain"

"I am Rose"

"Then I guess you can"

Artie grinned and said "Excellent, wanna go into the studios now and sort it all out?"

"Erm…" Rose trailed off as her stomach started doing summersaults… that would mean seeing Seth! She'd managed to avoid him all week so far and actually felt better not seeing him. And seeing him again could be awkward making Artie figure out something was wrong.

"We don't have to do if you don't want, all of your boxes are still there so I can do all of the paperwork and send it off"

"No it's alright I'll come with you" Rose replied making Artie smile again,

"Okay then"

"Just let me change and I'll be ready"

"Okay take your time" Rose got up off the floor and quickly rearranged her shorts before running to her bedroom to fish out some clothes to wear.

Once she'd done that she came back into the living room, threw her shoes on and grabbed everything she needed before heading out the door with Artie. It seemed like a regular thing now to head towards the FOX studios, how many people could say they could do that? Rose was certainly a lucky young woman!

* * *

"I kept all of the boxes by my cubicle"

"Wouldn't that take up too much room?" Rose teased making Artie smile and say, "I like my cubicle, it's got a homey touch to it" Rose smiled as they stepped out of the elevator and headed towards Artie's cubicle outside Seth's office. "Seth should be around somewhere" Artie said over his shoulder as they walked through the narrow corridors. "When I took off he was still in the recording booth"

"He's recording voices today?"

"Yeah, wanna go check it out?"

"I thought actors couldn't be disturbed"

"In the actual booth you can't, but there's a production booth right next to it where you sit and put the recordings together. It's also where Seth sits to listen to the recordings say if Alex or Mike are in there recording their characters"

"Wow well if he doesn't mind then I suppose we can pay him a visit"

"Seth doesn't mind anything we do; he's so down to earth"

"Do people misjudge him then?"

"Most of the time, but in public he is a little cocky when people ask dumb questions. But when he's sitting in the writer's room or gag room he really comes out of his shell and portrays a wide variety of emotions. He's one helluva funny man when you get him going" Rose smiled at that, but then focused on walking towards Artie's cubicle to get her animatic ready to be shipped off to Korea so it could be coloured. "Once we make sure it's all in there and in order, we can box and tape it up, then it's ready to go. It just needs Seth's signature and we're good to go"

"You really think he'll allow it? Won't it cost money?"

"Rose this company brings in billions of dollars, it's alright trust me"

"Billions?" Rose squeaked out making Artie laugh,

"Yes Rose I did say that word"

"Wow that's a lot"

"Tell me about it"

"Well I gotta admit that this show is pretty amazing, coming back from 2 cancellations"

"Yeah that was incredible"

"Were you here right from the beginning?"

"I've known Seth for years, and when the show got cancelled for second time everybody was saying that it was the end. But Seth never gave up hope, he was still drawing and coming up with things, and then his wish came true. Family Guy rose from the dead again" Rose smiled at that, she always thought that Seth seemed the type to dream and hold on and never give up home, another reason why he was her idol.

"So" Artie said snapping Rose from her thoughts, "Care to go and find Seth with me?"

"Sure" Rose replied with a smile and then picked up the box with her animatic in so it could get ready to be shipped off. Then she followed Artie back down the corridors to go and find Seth.

* * *

"Can I try that one more time?" Seth asked as he was in the recording booth, "It's fine Seth but if you're not happy with it, go again" Came Adam's reply through the microphone from the other booth. Seth had just finished singing a musical number but due to his lack of effort and concentration, he wasn't fully satisfied with it.

Throughout the past week, he really had difficulty in concentrating on his workload. He had many things to do but because of what happened with Rose last week, he'd been slacking behind and was now paying the price for it. He was tired, miserable and missing deadlines for episodes to be handed to the FOX executives before they aired on TV.

"Seth are you alright?" Adam asked through the microphone as he noticed Seth looked distant, "Because your work qualities seem to be slipping, normally you get your voices done in one take"

"I'll be fine Adam, my throat just seems a bit tickly today"

"Well it's best to steer clear of Alec then"

"Why?"

"He's got that flu that's going around"

"Oh Jesus"

"Yeah so just be careful"

"I spoke to Alec this morning"

"Oh… well good luck then" Seth just rolled his eyes and cleared his throat and then tried to sing the song again without screwing it up,

_You've got to look your best tonight,_  
_You tubby little parasite,_  
_'Cause there's a lovely lady_  
_And she's waiting for you._  
_And though her pretty face may seem,_  
_A "special" person's wettest dream,_  
_Before you get to see it,_  
_There are things you must do:_

_We'll try a tie,  
And boutonnière of yellow,  
Or a rose that shows,  
That you're a classy fellow  
With the posh panache  
Of Jefferson and Monticello -  
Busting out a mile, with style!_

* * *

"Rose! It's been ages since I last saw you!" Alex said happily as she saw Rose walking hand in hand with Artie down the hallway towards the recording booths. Everybody was playing table tennis again and waiting around to record their voices.

"I know it's been a while" Rose replied as she hugged Alex tightly.

"How are you?"

"I'm doing okay yeah"

"What's the box for?"

"I turned my drawings into my animatic and now it just needs colouring so Artie suggested we ask Seth to send it off to Korea"

"That's a great idea! Seth will surely go for that"

"You think so"

"Well he's in the booth right now but when he's finished I think he'll be pleased to see you"

"He will?" Alex eyed Rose suspiciously for a moment, did something happen that she wasn't aware of?

"Rose… can I speak to you alone for a second please?"

"Sure Alex"

"Artie we won't be long"

"No worries take your time" Artie replied with a small smile as he watched both women walk towards the conference room. Alex pulled the door open and stepped inside with Rose who looked confused and worried.

"Rose honey, something you wanna tell me?" Alex said once the door was shut.

"Erm…" Rose replied as she looked down at her shoes.

"Because you seem to be a bit nervous whenever Seth's name is mentioned, something happened?"

"Erm…"

"You can tell me Rose; I won't say anything or judge you"

"Her erm… sort of kissed me last week"

"He did what?"

"I was at my friend's bar as it was country music night and he invited me down, and then I saw Seth and Mike"

"Oh…"

"And I asked Seth to dance and we ended up having some fun but then when a slow song came on, we danced together and he was murmuring things in my ear and then out of nowhere he kissed me"

"So what did you do?"

"I freaked out, he stole my first kiss and I pushed him away and ran out of the bar"

"Did he chase after you?"

"I'd left my bag in the bar and he dropped it off and tried to apologise, then he kissed me again and admitted he liked me"

"I think it's more than like sweetie"

"How'd you mean?"

"That man's crazy about you"

"But I'm with Artie, its wrong!"

"Honey people can't control who they fall for"

"But I'm getting really close with Artie and then Seth comes along and-"

"How do you actually feel about Seth?"

"What?"

"How do you feel? Do you like him too?"

"No- I- you can't think that-"

"Well you did say he was your idol and sometimes I see the way you look at him"

"I'm with Artie, Alex and I'm happy with him"

"Well if he's the one you want-"

"He is" Rose replied but somehow saying that didn't feel right, although he made her happy, thoughts of Seth always crossed her mind.

"Then I guess we have no problem here"

"But-" Rose replied but then didn't know why she said that. If she was happy with Artie then Alex was right, there wasn't a problem. Seth would just have to live with it and slowly move on. But why was his kiss still fresh in her mind? His lips were perfect, so soft and wait… why was she still thinking about this?!

Artie was the one she wanted… Artie!

"Rose I really don't know what's going through your head, but like I said, if Artie makes you happy then continue your relationship with him. But now is your chance to be open and honest about your feelings towards Seth, don't stay with Artie just because it's making him happy, you need to be happy as well"

"I feel really bad about that kiss, but in a way it felt right. It felt right kissing Seth but then I think about Artie and how happy I've made him"

"Rose you can't stay with Artie just because you feel guilty about this, you'll just end up hurting him if he finds out the truth as he'll know your relationship was a lie"

"So do I tell him about Seth kissing me?"

"It's up to you, you decide what's best"

"But I don't want to hurt anybody; I'd be devastated if this caused a fight between Artie and Seth. They're best friends!"

"I think it's too late for that, it's already caused some tension between them"

"See this is not what I wanted, it's too complicated!"

"Well you still haven't told me the truth about Seth, do you like him?"

Rose sighed and said, "Yes, yes I do. Very much in fact"

"And Artie?"

"I like him too!"

"But you've admired Seth for years"

"Yeah"

"And maybe meeting him in person was fate, if you feel strongly for him you've gotta follow your heart and choose the one you know will make you happy" Rose sighed again and felt confused. She liked both of them? Surely that wasn't right at all, only one man could make her happy, but which one of them would it be?

"I'm sorry if I've confused you Rose, but you'll figure this out" Alex said as she pulled Rose into a hug, "You've just gotta think hard about all of this"

"But I'm new to this; I haven't got any experience in choosing"

"Everybody has to make a difficult decision in their life sooner or later, but only choose the one that means the most to you. Don't think about making anybody else happy, you come first right now. Think about who makes you happiest and then you'll just know"

Rose nodded and said "I'll think about it tonight"

"Good girl, now let's get back out there. I can't wait to whoop Alec's ass again at table tennis!" Rose smiled and then followed Alex out the door to head back over to the lads who were really getting into their game. Even Artie was playing which made Rose smile, it was currently 4 on 4, which had never been done before, Rose didn't know where they got all of the paddles from!

"Rose wanna join in?" Danny said as he smacked the ball back over to Artie who smacked it right back. "Nah I'm good, making it 5 on 5 might be a bit too much" Rose replied with a smile but then looked over to the recording booth and remembered that Seth was in there. That thought put butterflies in her tummy, he wasn't far away and he didn't even know she was in the building.

"Rose go and say hi to him if you want" Mila said as she noticed Rose looking longingly at the booth, "He won't mind, maybe you'll cheer him up!"

"How'd you mean?"

"Haven't the guys filled you in?"

"No"

"The guy's been a mess!"

"He has?"

"Yeah, moody, tired, comes into work hungover, his work is slacking… I could go on"

"Oh"

"Somebody's made him really unhappy" Rose looked down at the floor feeling guilty, it was her that had caused this and now she felt awful.

"So maybe you paying him a visit will make him smile his first smile in days!" Rose smiled slightly and said "Okay"

"Just knock on the door of the producer's booth and he'll let you in when it's all clear"

"Okay"

"Good luck!" Rose then headed forward towards the booths, yep… Seth was definitely in there and looking like he was really getting into character. Rose knocked on the booth door and waited a while before a young man stepped out and said "Rose, it's good to see you again"

"Adam, hi" Rose replied and then smiled when Adam scooted aside so she could step inside and sit down. She looked out of the window and saw and could hear that Seth was currently singing as Stewie. "He's really got into character so he won't realise you're here"

"Okay then"

"But when he's finished just press this (Adam pointed to a flip switch) to activate the microphone so he can hear you in the other booth"

"I'll try and remember that" Adam smiled and then Rose said "So what's he singing this for?"

"It's for our next musical number episode, about a girl with down's syndrome"

"Ohh I see"

"The lyrics are amazing as you can probably hear" then Adam turned the volume up a bit more and Rose smiled when she heard his voice,

_I know you just can't wait to stare_  
_At all that luscious orange hair,_  
_But boy, before you touch a single curl,_  
_You must impress that ultra-boomin',_  
_All-consumin', poorly-groomin'_  
_Down Syndrome girl!_

_On any normal day you reek,_  
_As if you're on a farting streak._  
_Your finger's up your nose_  
_And you are dripping with drool._  
_But if you want a lady's love,_  
_You're better off by smelling of_  
_A gentleman's cologne_  
_Instead of sneakers and stool._

_A squirt, a spurt_  
_Of somethin' just for Ellen_  
_And you'll see that she_  
_Will find you so compellin'_  
_And she does, because_  
_The only smell that she'll be smellin'_  
_Won't be comin' from your bum!_

"Wow he can sing all of those verses without hardly taking breaths?" Rose said making Adam nod,

"Seth's lung capacity is very large due to all of the voices and singing"

"Wasn't he trained by the couple that trained Frank Sinatra?"

"He was indeed"

"Amazing"

"I know, watching him switch from voice to voice is incredible. That man is wonderfully talented" Rose smiled again and continued watching Seth move around and sing his heart out in the other booth,

_You wanna take that little whore_  
_And spin her on the dancing floor_  
_But boy, before you do a single twirl,_  
_You must impress that effervescing,_  
_Self-possessing, no BS-ing_  
_Down Syndrome girl!_

_Her eyes are emerald portals_  
_To a secret land of love_  
_And her smile is like the sweetest summer flower._  
_Her kiss is so inviting_  
_And her hugs are so delighting._  
_And what makes them really nice,_  
_Is that they've got a little spice_  
_Because they're tighter than a vice_  
_And may go on for an hour..._  
_My boy, between the two of us,_  
_We'll get you on that shorty bus_  
_And then you're gonna take it for a whirl._  
_Now go impress that super thrilling,_  
_Wish-fulfilling, Yoo-hoo-spilling,_  
_Ultra swinging boner-bringing,_  
_Gaily singing, ding-a-linging,_  
_Stupefying, fortifying,_  
_(As of Monday)_  
_Shoe lace tying,_  
_Stimulating, titillating,_  
_Kitty cat impersonating,_  
_Mega rocking, pillow-talking,_  
_Just a little crooked walking,_  
_Poorly pouting, poopy-sprouting,_  
_For some reason, always shouting,_  
_Fascinating, captivating,_  
_Happiness and joy-creating…_  
_Down Syndrome girl!_

Rose just stared at Seth through the window open mouthed… he was amazing!

"How was that?" Came Seth's voice through the speakers making Rose smirk and flick the switch so she could speak, "I thought it was awful, do it again" then she giggled to herself as Seth took his headphones off and stared through the window in confusion. But then he saw Rose laughing to herself and an instant smile spread across his face,

"Boy you'd make a tough manager"

"I'm just honest" Rose then giggled again and Seth felt warmth in his heart he hadn't felt in ages.

"You might as well work here you come in that often"

Rose smiled and said, "Well sign me up then"

"In due time" Seth replied as he took his headphones off and said "Adam are we done?"

"Yep, all your voices are perfect and now the song is excellent so you're done, we need Alex in and then Mila"

Seth nodded and then said to Rose, "You need to speak to me or something?"

"Err yeah I do actually"

"Okay I'll be out in a minute"

Rose nodded and then said "Thank you Adam for letting me come in here"

"Not a problem Rose, any time you want to drop by just let me know" Rose smiled and then bid Adam goodbye and stepped out of the booth. She smiled to herself and then saw Seth speaking to Alex holding his infamous coffee mug.

"Hey how'd it go?" Rose heard Mila say beside her,

"It was alright yeah"

"Did you tease him?"

"A little, I said he had to re-sing the song"

Mila laughed and said, "You must have said something right as he won't stop smiling"

"I always wind him up to be honest"

Mila smiled and then said "Has Seth told you about what's happening this Friday?"

"No why?"

"It's probably best for him to say then"

"Oh okay"

"Mila, you're up!" Seth said and Mila said to Rose "It's my turn to record but hey if you're still around maybe we can hang out with the guys"

"Yeah I'd like that"

"Good I'll be back shortly" Mila then smiled and headed into the booth but said "Eugh MacFarlane did you fart in here or something!" Rose laughed as Seth laughed at her comments and said "Sorry"

"This is why I hate coming in here after you! What do you eat?!" Seth laughed again and turned to see Rose laughing to herself as well.

"Rose" he said softly getting her to look at him and smile slightly, "I just need to watch over Mila's recording and then I'll be with you"

"Oh okay, I'll be here still when you've finished" Rose replied with a smile as she watched Seth step into the booth across from Mila to listen to her recordings. "Rose you playing? We need you!" Rose smiled at Alec's words and said "Aww getting your ass kicked by Alex are we?" Alec glared at Rose who laughed and headed over to them and said

"Alright make room" Artie laughed and gave her an extra paddle and then they began a new table tennis tournament with 5 on 5.

* * *

"How's it going guys?" Seth asked as he watched the gang play a big game of table tennis, they were shouting and cheering and having fun all the way through it, until Alex scored the winning point and celebrated with Rose. They danced around like idiots but Rose nearly choked on the lollipop she was sucking on which caused much amusement to Danny.

"Rose why do you eat those things?" Mila said once she joined the group again and noticed Rose eating a lollipop, "It'll just rot your teeth"

"Nuh-uh" Rose replied and then spat her tongue out which had gone blue making some people smile, including Seth.

"Give me the lollipop" Mila said making Rose laugh and back away from her

"No"

"They're not healthy!"

"Since when have you become obsessive with food?" Danny asked, "You always eat the cakes we have"

"That's different" Mila said with a laugh, "I just hate lollipops"

"Well you're not getting it" Rose said and then laughed when Mila headed towards her, and then broke out into a run when Rose started running away. They ran around the couches and all the way down the corridor before Rose rolled over the couch and landed on the floor with the lollipop still in her mouth. Mila managed to catch up with her and try and grab hold of the lollipop, but Rose held it firmly in her mouth and started growling,

"You'll thank me when your teeth don't fall out" Mila said through laughter as Rose was pulling away. "Release it" Mila said again but Rose wouldn't let it go. "Fine I'll just have to improvise" then Mila started tickling Rose in the ribs causing her to laugh and let go of the lollipop, "Haha I won!" Mila said and then quickly ran over to the trashcan to put it in before Rose could get it back.

Rose blew raspberries at her and scowled; "You'll thank me later" Mila said laughing when Rose mumbled something under her breath and went back over to the group who had only just stopped laughing.

"Was that real? Did we just witness that?" Alec said once he'd stopped laughing and looked at both women who were playfully scowling at each other. "I feel so happy and privileged to be working with people like this" Seth said causing the group to start laughing again.

"Alright now that that's over" David said to the whole group "Table read in an hour at midday and then it's back to the normal routine" everybody then split up and did their own thing, giving Seth a chance to speak to Rose before Alex did her voice recordings.

"Rose" Seth said to Rose who smiled but didn't grin as her teeth had turned blue with the lollipop, "We can talk now if you want"

"With a blue tongue and blue teeth?" Rose said covering her mouth making Seth laugh,

"I don't mind, honestly your teeth aren't coloured it's just your tongue"

"Oh… well then I owe Danny a punch for lying to me"

Seth laughed and said "So what can I do for you?"

"Well it's a little awkward actually"

"No worries"

"Erm… you see I've finished my animatic and I don't have any knowledge of where to send it to, so it can be coloured and run as a proper cartoon so…"

"You can send it to Korea if you want"

"That's what I was going to ask, but I feel awful about it"

"No worries Rose, we're about to ship off 3 boxes of our own, so just label it up and I'll sign for it"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely"

"Oh my god thank you, that means a lot to me" Seth smiled at her happiness but then felt awkward as he remembered the kiss last week. Rose noticed his uncomfortableness and said "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm perfectly fine" he was lying through his teeth but he couldn't tell her the truth about it, the kiss was still fresh in his mind. And looking at her right now with flushed cheeks and messy hair made him want to kiss her again.

"I err- wanted to ask you something"

"Okay go ahead Seth"

"Well I'm having a party at my house on Friday and everybody is invited and I was just wondering whether you wanted to come?"

"To your house?"

"Yes"

"This Friday?"

"Yes"

"Oh wow I'd love to come!" Rose said happily, she'd get to see his amazing house!

"Excellent, I'm glad you said yes" Seth said with a smile.

"Is it just a general party or Family Guy related?"

"A bit of both really, I've got the orchestra hired out so they'll be set up in my tennis court"

"Wow you have a tennis court?"

"Yeah I play with my intern and publicist, very fun game to play"

Rose smiled and said "Any particular time I have to be there? It'll take me ages to find your house"

"I'll arrange transport for you, unless you're going with Artie?"

"Yeah I think I might be"

"Oh okay"

"Yeah"

"So the party will start around 6ish and probably last all the way into the night so you can crash there if you like"

"I'll bring my jammies" Rose said with a laugh causing Seth to laugh as well.

"Okay then so I'll see you on Friday, or tomorrow if you're around"

"Yeah you probably will, my Uni schedule is pretty light now that it's heading up to the summer break"

"You in your last year?"

"No this is my second year"

"And you've already made your animatic for a student film?"

"Yeah I was so buzzed and excited with the ideas in my head that I just had to write them all down, then my professor said it was good and I should try and make it into a storyboard, so I did and then it progressed into making the frames, then came the animatic"

"Wow that's incredible, how many frames is your animatic?"

"I'd say about 15thousand"

"My god I only drew 10thousand for the life of Larry!"

Rose smiled and Seth continued, "So are you sending your animatic out then?"

"I was going to yeah"

"You sending it worldwide or just in the states?"

"I was thinking worldwide but I'm afraid of rejection"

"Those doubts will never go away, but you've just gotta control them and squash them deep down otherwise they'll haunt you forever"

"Thanks for the advice"

"So if you get accepted are you leaving Uni and not finishing to get your degree?"

"I'm not sure that's where I'm stuck"

"No offence but I'm just surprised you actually made an animatic in your second year of Uni, RISD wouldn't really allow me to make it until my last year"

"My professor just said I was talented and wanted to see if I was ready, turns out I really surprised him"

"Well more power to you, Prouda you" Seth said like Peter causing Rose to laugh excitedly making Seth laugh "Wow that's my favourite reaction so far"

"I'm sorry it's just I've never heard you do impressions around me"

"Really?"

"Yeah in the week I've known you I've never asked you to do impressions"

"That's what most people want me for, they don't want to hear me rambling on"

"I love talking to you for you, not Peter or Quagmire"

"Not even me?" Seth said like Stewie making Rose laugh in excitement again, "Wow it's like being around a little kid"

"Shut up" Rose said slapping him on the arm,

"Ouch! you've got some strength" Rose smiled triumphantly but then Seth said "You looking forward to sending your animatic off then?"

"Yeah but I'm not sure how long it takes for it to get coloured"

"It'll take between 4 to 9 months from what I've seen"

"Wow long time"

"You haven't put any dance scenes in it have you?"

"No why?"

"Koreans aren't that good with the dance scenes, they always fuck um' up in our episodes and we have to edit them, always"

"Man that must be a pain in the ass"

"It is yeah but we manage"

Rose smiled but said, "I've noticed your throat is a little scratchy, are you okay?"

"Yeah it'll be alright, it gets like that when I've been doing voices all day, especially Stan, he tears my throat to pieces" Rose gave him a sympathetic smile but then he said "Anyway honey I better go and try and pull a performance out of Alex so maybe I'll see you tomorrow if you're around"

"I'm sure I'll see you before Friday"

Seth smiled and said "I'll see you later"

"See you later" Rose replied and then watched him walk away, but smiled when somebody wrapped their arms around her from behind. "Hello gorgeous" Artie murmured making Rose smiled and turn around so she was facing him.

"Hey handsome"

"Wanna play some more table tennis?"

"Actually we can start getting my stuff ready to send off"

"Oh wow he said yes?"

"He sure did"

"Alright Rose!"

Rose laughed and said "It's gonna be real"

"I know I'm so happy for you" Artie then hugged Rose and she laughed as he picked her up and swung her around.

"Wanna go and get some lunch to celebrate?"

"What about the table read?"

"We've got a snack bar here with every food you could think of... so we can eat in!" Rose laughed and said, "Let's go then" Artie smiled and then led Rose down the corridor towards the snack bar to go and get something to eat.

Rose certainly had a lot to smile about, but a small part of her knew that she had to make a choice between Artie and Seth, but who would she choose?


	11. Chapter 11

Friday couldn't come quick enough for Rose, and she was surprised at where the time had gone. She'd spent the last couple of days hanging out with Artie and shopping at the mall searching for a dress to wear for Seth's party. She'd found the perfect one eventually and couldn't wait to wear it tonight.

"Don't you think you should start getting ready?" Artie asked Rose as she was lying on the floor watching TV. She was currently watching Friends and hated being disturbed whenever she watched it.

"In a minute" Rose replied making Artie smile and say "It's reaching 4:45pm and I know you and it'll take ages to get ready"

"In a minute" Rose replied again.

"Nope not this time"

"Oh come on"

"Nope" Then Artie got up off the couch and stood over Rose who was still glued to the TV. "Time to get ready" Artie replied and then reached down and picked Rose up but she went to deadweight causing him to crash to the floor.

"I hate when you do that!" Artie said making Rose giggle and said "Okay I'll get ready"

"Good" Artie replied getting up off the floor and then helped Rose to her feet. He held onto her hands and smiled as she smiled up at him with her big blue eyes. "Go get ready" Artie said and then kissed her forehead and smiled as she headed for the bathroom to start getting ready. She'd already showered, now it was make-up and figuring out how to have her hair, up or down? Curled or straight? Sometimes being a woman was a pain in the ass!

"I need some music," Rose mumbled to herself as she walked back out of the bathroom towards her computer. "Music" she said to Artie before he could ask his question. Instead he smiled as Rose put the radio on loud and then headed back into her bedroom to put her dress on and sort herself out.

Artie was already dressed in jeans and a blue shirt and was pretty much ready, whereas Rose had lectured him on the importance of looking nice. It did make him laugh about how serious she was being but he got her to laugh eventually.

"What time do we have to head out?" Rose said as she walked out of the bathroom untangling the wire on her curlers.

"Seth said the Limo was coming for us at 5:45pm"

"Crap that doesn't leave me much time"

"Told you so"

"Bite me"

"With pleasure" Rose smiled as she plugged in her curlers and put them down to let them warm up. Then she went back into her room to put on her dress, it was sky blue with white ribbon around the waist to show off her slim figure. She thought it was perfect and had to buy it and she didn't regret it. She carefully slipped the dress on and managed to zip it up without any problems, then put the white shrug on as her back was exposed showing the scars. They didn't bother her that much anymore, but she couldn't stand being questioned about it all night.

"Right that's that done" Rose said as she slipped her last earring on before heading back into the bathroom to curl her hair.

"See if you'd have listened to me you wouldn't have to rush around" Artie said smugly from the living room, and then laughed when Rose glared at him from the doorway to the bathroom.

"Don't pout like that"

"I'm not pouting, I'm glaring at you"

"Show me your beautiful smile"

"No you don't deserve it"

"Oh come on, please?" Artie said with puppy dog eyes making Rose roll her eyes and walk back into the bathroom to start curling her hair. She'd had it cut this week so now it only reached the middle of her back and not her waist. It made it easier to curl and Rose smiled when she saw it was curling properly and not just falling out straight away. Otherwise it'd look like she hadn't brushed her hair in weeks and that wouldn't be attractive.

As she curled her hair she thought about Seth and her tummy went all funny and she felt giddy. Why did he have that affect on her? If she acted like that all night she'd look and feel ridiculous. She was still surprised that she was actually going to his house; she was going to see where he lived! She knew he lived a life of luxury and seeing it with her own eyes would be incredible.

But then she thought about Artie and again, the feeling of confusion came back to her. She liked both men very much and couldn't make a decision. It made her feel awful as she wasn't the type of girl to do this, she'd be judged and that wasn't who she was. It was just new to Rose and she really needed some help and advice.

"How can I choose between them?" Rose whispered to herself as she stared at the floor, "They're both amazing" it was too confusing to think about. Both men were already starting to fall out about this and Rose would hate herself if they started fighting and hating each other. "What have you got yourself into Rose?" she whispered to herself as she messed with her hair to fluff it up a little. She was happy with how it had curled and now she just needed to apply some make-up and she was ready. Ready to head off to Seth's house to spend an entire evening listening to him sing and be surrounded by other women… this was surely going to be interesting…

* * *

Seth was pacing back and forth his house full of nerves. He'd thrown some legendary parties at his house before, but he knew that this one had to be even better than before. Rose was actually going to be in his house and he wanted everything perfect, so he'd hired maids, cleaners and gardeners to make sure everything was perfect. The band was currently setting up and tuning their instruments in his garden, whilst chefs and waitresses got the food started in the kitchen. He'd put a lot of thought into this party and if something went wrong he'd be embarrassed and feel awful.

"Seth are you still panicking?" Alex said when she noticed Seth pacing back and forth back and forth. He'd start leaving trench marks soon if he didn't stop.

"Yes I am panicking Alex" Seth replied when he stopped pacing and looked around the room, it was spotless now and he was happy with it.

"Why are you edgy? You know your parties are always successful"

"Yeah but this one's different"

"Why?"

"Because-" Seth cut himself off and Alex smirked,

"Because Rose will be here right?"

"Exactly and I want things to be perfect"

"Seth she won't care if you've got crumbs on the carpet or shit covering your windows, she'll come in and have fun like everyone else"

Seth sighed and said "I guess you're right"

"How many lights have you got in your garden?! I hope you can afford the electric bill!" Alex said with a laugh getting Seth to finally smile. "See there you go, can't have the host looking depressed all night can we?"

"I'm just nervous is all"

"I know sweetie but it's gonna be alright"

"Let's hope"

"How many people are invited to this thing?"

"About 200"

"Jeez Seth, go crazy much?"

"It's just for fun"

"Will you even be able to find Rose?"

"I think so, she's the only girl I know with actual red hair so she'll stick out" Alex smiled but then turned to face the waitress who said "Mr MacFarlane the guests are arriving now"

"Crap is it 6 already?"

"It is sir" the waitress replied and then said "Shall I let them in?"

"Not yet I just need to do a few last minute things"

"Okay sir"

"Is the food ready now?"

"Yes sir"

"And the orchestra?"

"They're just tuning up but they're ready sir"

"Excellent, thank you"

"I'll keep the guests entertained sir" then the waitress walked off and Seth turned back to Alex who was smirking,

"Sir?"

"What? I didn't tell them they had to call me sir, I said they could call me Seth"

Alex smiled and said, "Ready to go?"

"I've got no other choice"

"You'll be fine sweetie"

"Thank you for being here with me, I just needed some support"

"It's alright Seth we're best friends, I've got your back and will help you out no matter what" Seth smiled but then took a deep breath and said "Show time"

"You'll be fine" Alex said again, "Just be yourself and sing your heart out" Seth nodded and then headed towards the front doors which were open but guarded by security just in case anything happened. But he smiled widely and then greeted the guests as they came inside.

Tonight would be amazing; he just hoped that Rose would show up.

* * *

"Stop fidgeting" Artie said to Rose as she keep rearranging her dress and feeling self-conscious. They'd arrived at Seth's house and were walking up the long driveway, which had been decorated with hundreds of coloured lights making it look amazing. The path was covered in gazebos just in case it rained and even they were decorated in hundreds of twinkling lights. Seth even had the tallest palm trees covered in lights! He'd certainly gone crazy with decorations.

"Wow this place is amazing" Rose said as she looked around.

"I know it's incredible" Artie replied.

"You ever been here before?"

"Yeah lots of times, but I've never seen it like this before"

"Does Seth invite you all here regularly then?"

"Yeah pretty much, we're all friends down at work and he likes it when we're all together not thinking about work. Just drinking and relaxing"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah sure"

"Does Seth smoke weed? I've heard a lot of rumours"

"Yes he used to, but he quit"

"How come?"

"He had a bad experience"

"What happened?"

"He got so baked he couldn't remember where he was, and then he thought he was paralyzed and started freaking out and going crazy flapping his arms and legs about. Took us ages to calm him down, since then he hasn't touched it"

"How long ago was that?"

"About 5 years now"

"Oh"

"How come?"

"Just wondering, you don't smoke do you?"

"Nope, how come?"

"I hate smokers and I hate drugs"

"Oh"

"So if you want to be with me you'll have to stay clean"

"I wouldn't touch any of it" Rose smiled and then looked ahead and was surprised at how big Seth's house was. It was 2 story but the front doors were huge!

"Wow" is all Rose said as Artie walked forward towards the security guards.

They looked at him and said "Evening Artie"

"Evening Jackson"

"Go right on through, Seth should be around somewhere"

"Thank you" Artie replied and then led Rose through the doors so they were standing in the hallway.

"Man this is weird"

"How come Rose?"

"Because I'm standing in Seth's house" Artie smiled as he slipped off his jacket and said, "It's warm, you want me to take your shrug?"

"No" Rose said quickly and Artie looked surprised, then he remembered her back and said "I'm sorry"

"No it's okay"

"You sure?"

"Yes" Artie smiled but then turned and saw Seth heading towards them. "You made it" Seth said cheerfully as he shook Artie's hand and then stared at Rose… she looked so gorgeous his mouth opened in surprise.

"Evening Seth" Rose said with a smile as Seth shook his head and then smiled, "You look beautiful as always Rose"

"Thank you" Rose replied whilst blushing making Seth smile and say "Can I get you drinks? The bar's just in the back near the gardens"

"Thanks Seth" Artie replied and then followed Seth through the doors and into the garden which was already busy with people talking and dancing to the music playing through the speakers which surrounded the garden. "You not got a live band this evening?" Artie asked Seth who nodded and said, "Yeah they're over by the tennis courts, they'll be playing when all the guests arrive" Artie nodded and then looked at Rose who looked fascinated with the decorations.

Seth noticed too and said "You like it Rose?"

"Yes it's beautiful, but I dread your electric bills" Seth laughed and then handed her a drink of Malibu and Coke, her favourite drink.

"Thank you" Rose said making Seth smile at her. She looked amazing tonight and he was feeling very envious of Artie, he was so lucky!

* * *

A couple of hours had passed and the party was in full swing, with everybody dancing and Seth singing his heart out on stage. He was belting on Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin getting everybody dancing and having fun.

Rose had found Alex, Mila and the rest of the gang who had stuck together so nobody would get lost. Everybody was dancing and Rose was having fun being twirled around by Artie who was a brilliant dancer. But the one thing that made Rose confused was that Seth kept looking at her whenever he sang a song. He'd been singing "The Way You Look Tonight" and didn't look away from her once…it was weird. But nobody else noticed it so Rose just presumed she was overreacting and tried to forget about it, but then when Seth sang "I've Got You Under My Skin" it made her feel uncomfortable and this time Alex noticed.

"Rose honey you okay?"

"No" Rose replied.

"Toilets?"

"Yes"

"Artie we'll be back in a minute"

"What is it with ladies going to the bathroom together?"

"We're not going to the bathroom, we're going to find some handsome men and do bad things to them" Before Artie could reply Alex had whisked Rose through the crowds and back into the house which was fairly quiet.

"Where are we going?"

"I know a place" Alex replied as she led Rose up the stairs towards Seth's master bedroom. She opened the door and instantly smelt Seth's cologne and she felt Rose tense.

"Why are we in Seth's room?"

"How'd you know it's his room?"

"I recognise his cologne"

"Oh"

"Well he wears enough of it!" Alex laughed and then led Rose over to his queen size bed and sat down.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you not see that?" Rose said irritably.

"Yes I did see it Rose"

"Why is he doing this to me?"

"He's crazy about you Rose"

"But I'm with Artie, how many times do I have to repeat myself?"

"Seth's one of these people who doesn't give up, once he sets his eye on something he'll sacrifice everything to get it"

Rose sighed and said "Well he can't have me, I'm with Artie"

"Rose you look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't want Seth" Rose sat on the bed and looked Alex in the eye, but when she tried to speak nothing would come out.

Alex smirked and said "Can't do it can ya?"

"I don't- I don't-" Rose frowned and Alex smiled,

"Do you know what I can see in your eyes?"

"No"

"I can see love"

"What?"

"You love Seth"

"No I don't"

"Yes you do"

"Stop putting words in my mouth Alex, that's not true"

"But it is, you're just trying to deny it by pretending you're happy with Artie"

"But I _am_ happy with Artie"

"You've been speaking to Seth most of the night whenever he's not on stage, Artie just stands back and accepts it" Rose was about to reply but stopped herself. "Rose you can't keep doing this to yourself, it's written all over your face that you love Seth and you know how he feels"

"But I-"

"Stop living in denial"

"But Artie-"

"Artie will happily stay as your friend"

"But we're-"

"Rose you've been dating for nearly a month now, has he kissed you?"

"No"

"Seth was your first real kiss?"

"Yes"

"How did it make you feel?"

"Amazing"

"See there you go"

"Alex stop this"

"Rose I'm telling you the truth, yes people hate hearing the truth but this can't be brushed aside, if you love Seth you've gotta tell Artie" Rose sighed and stared at the floor. She couldn't think straight; did she love Seth but was just denying it? Was being with Artie just a way to keep her mind off Seth? Oh man that's a horrible thing to do!

"I feel awful" Rose said and cursed when she felt tears forming.

"Honey it's alright" Alex said sympathetically "The truth does hurt"

"I love Seth" Rose said quietly, "I can't keep denying it"

Alex grinned and said "I'm really happy for you sweetie, with just a little encouragement you realised what you wanted" Rose just wiped the tears away and said "What about Artie though?"

"He'll be alright, just let him down gently" Rose nodded and then said, "I suppose you're going to tell me to do that now?"

"It's best to whilst you're like this, otherwise you won't want to and that'll make it worse"

Rose sighed and said "Okay, let's go" Alex smiled and then walked with Rose out the door and back towards the party.

* * *

"How dare that bastard have a party without inviting me!" Harriet screeched to herself as she stormed up the driveway towards Seth's house. She'd heard rumour over the internet that he was throwing a big bash and it made her angry knowing she hadn't been invited. Of course Rose would have been invited… she always got everything she wanted! Ever since Harriet met Rose she'd felt nothing but envy and jealously, Rose was perfectly beautiful and innocent. She always got everything, she worked hard, and she was talented and perfect and drove Harriet crazy. She wanted all of that, she wanted to draw, write and make friends with famous people.

But noooo, Rose had to get there first… it wasn't fair!

Harriet wanted to expose Rose and humiliate her in front of everybody, that'd make her realise how useless and stupid she was. Even her own dad left her and her mama beat her, she'd never had a boyfriend before, she was useless and unloved and she wanted everybody to know that!

Storming through the doors, Harriet looked around and was amazed by how many guests were there. But she didn't care; she barged through them all and was frantically searching for Rose. Then she found her… talking to Seth! Anger was boiling deep inside Harriet… this was war…

* * *

Rose headed back to the gang and smiled when they all greeted her and started dancing again. Seth had taken a break from singing and was making his way towards the gang to hang out. "Hey guys" Seth said cheerfully but held his throat as it felt scratchy and rough.

"Hey brilliant set man" Alec replied making Seth smile.

"You were amazing" Seth heard somebody say beside him and smiled when he saw Rose standing there.

"Thank you"

"Big Frank Sinatra nut?"

"Of course!"

"You sound just like him, it's incredible"

"Oh knock it off"

"I mean it you're amazing" Seth smiled his crooked grin and Rose felt the butterflies again. It was obvious and clear to her now how she felt about him, and he had to be told. "Seth can I talk to yo-" Rose was cut off when she heard a familiar screeching voice, "You!" Rose turned around and was surprised to see Harriet storming towards her.

"Harriet how the hell did you get in?" Rose asked surprised,

"Seems Macdouche has got dopey security guards"

Seth frowned deeply at that, "I'm asking you calmly to leave my property"

"I will once I've got this out to this little bitch here"

"Excuse me?" Rose said raising her eyebrows and folding her arms, "I made it perfectly clear to you how I feel about you, you mean nothing to me"

"Oh I heard ya Rose loud and clear, but I didn't get a chance to voice MY opinion"

"Your opinion doesn't mean anything to anybody"

"Oh this will as soon as I say it"

"Nobody cares Harriet"

"Ever since we first met I was always envious of you, you had everything I wanted, looks, innocence and amazing talent. But then I realised that, that didn't matter because I'm better than you, I had a loving and caring family who didn't abandon me (Rose scowled as Harriet's voice was deliberately getting louder causing people to turn and face them) they loved me and took care of me. But your father left you and your mama beat you, which proves that even they didn't love you, nobody loves you Rose! You're pathetic and lonely! You were nothing but a dork when I first met you and that hasn't changed, you're still a nerdy virgin at the age of 22! It's pathetic and you're pathetic, no man will ever want you, not even your idol Seth Macdouche over here, once he sees those disgusting scars on your back!" then Harriet went forward and grabbed Rose and ripped and tore at the back of her shrug, ripping it off exposing the top part of her back covering in deep pink scars which crisscrossed her back. Some people started laughing whilst others gasped and started making comments.

"You see Rose, you're disgusting! Nobody will ever want you, you're daddy abandoned you and found himself a new family proving you were never wanted, your mama beat you senseless every night trying to kill you! Which proves that nobody wants you in this world! So why don't you do the world a big favour and kill yourself, nobody would miss you! I'd be standing there laughing at you as you lay there on the floor dying! NOBODY WANTS YOU ROSE!" Harriet screeched and then stood there laughing as Rose had tears pouring from her eyes.

She was embarrassed and humiliated and had to get out of there. People laughed as she ran away with a torn dress exposing her back. She ran through Seth's house and out the front door leaving everybody completely stunned at what they just witnessed before them.

* * *

Rose got back to her dorm room in floods of tears; she went into her room and locked her door. The tears still pouring from her eyes as she crumpled to the floor, she curled herself up and cried hard. Harriet's words were still ringing in her ears causing more tears to fall from her eyes. It was true, she was a complete nobody and she was unloved. Her daddy abandoned her and her mama wanted her dead. Her life wasn't worth living anymore, and only one thing ran through her mind.

"Fine" Rose choked out as she rose from the floor and headed into the bathroom. "I'll do it," she mumbled as she pulled open her bathroom cabinet and fumbled around for her bottles of aspirin. If everybody wanted her dead she might as well get it over with now.

Rose wondered back into the living room with the 3 bottles of aspirin and sat on the couch. Then she opened the bottles and started crying again as she forced the tablets into her mouth and down her throat. The taste making her gag and retch but she still continued to force them down her throat. Once one bottle was gone she started on the second and then the third. Her life didn't seem worth it anymore and this was the only escape,

"_Nobody wants you in this world! So why don't you do the world a big favour and kill yourself, nobody would miss you!" _Harriet's words filled her head causing more tears and stifled screams as she slipped off the couch and lay on the floor crying and screaming. The 3 empty bottles surrounded her as she lay there feeling her vision becoming blurry. Her stomach churned around trying to reject the tablets but Rose kept her mouth shut and lay there looking at the ceiling. Her world seemed to be slipping away and her eyes felt droopy. This is what everybody wanted and now it was happening they'd be happy, she wouldn't be missed at all.

"Seth" is all Rose whispered before her eyes closed and her world went black…


	12. Chapter 12

"Pick up pick up pick up!" Artie said frantically as he dialled Rose's number once more. Ever since she'd run from Seth's house, nobody could get in touch with her. "Alex you try" Alex then got out her phone and dialled Rose's number but just like Artie, she got no response.

"No answer"

"Dammit where is she?!" Artie said frustrated as he paced the garden again. Seth called the party off and everybody went home after what happened. Harriet was escorted off the property by security after kicking and screaming at Seth who just ignored her. She'd gone completely mental and now Seth realised that all it ever was between Rose and Harriet was jealousy and hatred. Rose being the opposite of Harriet making her envious of everything Rose had. It was disturbing to think about but everybody was worried as Rose had gone missing.

"Where'd you reckon she's gone?" Alec asked worriedly as he looked at all of the others,

"I'm not sure" Danny replied, "Anybody know where she lives?"

"Her apartment of course!" Artie said, "We gotta go now"

"Okay then, Gary should still be waiting in the limo we'll just pile in" Alex said and then followed the gang out of the garden, through Seth's house and then out onto the front driveway.

"Seth you coming?"

"I've gotta get this place cleaned up, but ring me straight away when you find her" Alex nodded and then bid Seth goodbye before getting into the limo to go to house's apartment.

* * *

"Rose? Rose sweetie open the door" Alex called through Rose's door when she got no response from knocking. "We just want to talk to you, what Harriet said was complete lies" Alex waited but still no reply, "Maybe she's not there?"

"She has to be, her shrug was by the front entrance" Artie replied holding up the torn shrug where Harriet ripped it to pieces.

"Then why isn't she answering?"

"Maybe we should break the door down?" Danny suggested, "We need to check on her as she took off in such a panic"

"Alright fine, who's the strongest?" Alex asked and then moved aside when Artie came forward and began kicking at Rose's door. Eventually he got it open and they all burst inside and looked around.

"Rose?" Artie called as he looked around.

"Not in the bedroom" Alec said.

"Or the kitchen" Danny replied.

"Oh my god!" Came Alex's voice making everybody run into the living room to see what Alex was shouting about. What they saw frightened them, Rose lying unconscious on the ground surrounded by empty bottles of asprin.

"Oh man she didn't" Artie said as he sank to the ground taking Rose's cold hand.

"Looks like she did" Alec said, "Is she alive?"

"Barely" Artie said once he felt Rose's pulse, "Don't just stand there call an ambulance!"

"Right we're on it" Alex said pulling out her phone and calling an ambulance quickly. "They said they're on their way"

"What should we do in the mean time?"

"Try and wake her up"

"No put her in the recovery position!" Alec said moving the guys aside so he could roll Rose onto her side to prevent any choking if she woke up and vomited.

"Rose sweetie what have you done to yourself?" Artie whispered as he felt tears forming, "Nothing Harriet said was true"

"She's swallowed a lot of tablets," Danny said examining the bottles, "There's about 20 in each bottle"

"So she's choked down 60 tablets?" Artie said panicking as he looked back down at Rose's pale lifeless form. "Rose please don't die"

"I'm gonna ring Seth" Alex said dialling Seth's number waiting for him to pick up.

* * *

Seth was wondering around his gardens full of guilt and worry. He couldn't believe what he'd witnessed tonight, what Harriet had said and done was crossing the line. Nothing she said was true but Rose had run off in a state and now she was nowhere to be found.

"Please don't do anything stupid Rose" Seth said with a sigh as he stared down at his swimming pool, his reflection staring back at him. But Seth jumped out of his skin when his found vibrated in his pocket; he pulled it out and saw it was Alex.

"Have you found her?" is all he said.

"Yep we've found her alright" Alex replied with sadness in her tone.

"I don't like the sound of that tone, what's happened?"

"Rose has tried to kill herself"

"She's what?!"

"We broke into her apartment and found her surrounded by empty bottles of pills"

"Is she alive?!"

"Barely, the ambulance is on its way"

"Oh my god she tried to kill herself just because of what Harriet said?"

"Well we didn't exactly stick up for her did we! We just stood there looking like idiots!"

"I was just shocked"

"So was I but now she's done this and if she dies I couldn't live with myself!"

"Alex calm down"

"She's almost dead Seth! You can't see her! You chickened out on coming to help find her!"

"But-"

"If you loved her like she loves you you'd be here with us!" then Alex hung up the phone leaving Seth with tears in his eyes. It was true, he should have gone with them to help find Rose, but he chickened out. He didn't even stand up for Rose whilst Harriet had said all those cruel things!

"Oh man what have I done?" Seth said sinking to his knees, "Rose please don't die"

* * *

"Ma'am please step back so we can do our job," The paramedic said as they strapped Rose up to the stretcher.

"She's gonna be okay right?" Alex said panicking.

"We can't tell you at this point in time ma'am"

"So she's gonna die?"

"If we don't get her to the hospital right now then there's a slight chance she could"

"Oh god!"

"How long has she been unconscious?"

"We're not sure; we've only just found her"

"Was it a big overdose?"

"3 bottles of asprin"

"Well if we get her to the hospital quickly they can pump her stomach clean" Alex just sighed and wiped the tears away as she watched Rose being wheeled out of her room towards the ambulance.

"Are we all following her?" Alec asked.

"I'll go with her in the ambulance" Artie said, "You guys can follow behind or head home as it's late" he looked at his watch and saw it was reaching 2am.

"We promise we'll see her in the morning" Alex said hugging Artie, "Keep us up to date" then she headed towards the limo whilst Artie got into the ambulance which took Rose to the local hospital.

* * *

"Rose? Rose can you hear me?" the doctor said flashing a light into Rose's eyes but she was still unresponsive. The doctor then began getting things ready to start pumping her stomach, but her pulse was still low so she had to be wired up to machines.

Artie was told to wait outside in the waiting room which made him upset as he wanted to be with Rose. He couldn't live with himself if she died just because of somebody else's jealously. Harriet had done a brilliant job in humiliating Rose and now it led to all of this. He hoped she was proud of herself, getting somebody to try and commit suicide just because of jealously!

He sighed to himself as he stared down at the floor and thought about everything that had happened tonight. When Harriet was shouting at Rose she mentioned Seth and about how he'd never want her. He knew Rose idolised Seth, but was it more than that? Was she keeping her true feelings a secret? Then he thought about Seth, he'd done nothing but act peculiar ever since Artie started dating Rose. He was distant, moody and snapped for no reason whenever he saw them both together.

Had everybody been keeping secrets from him?

Artie thought he knew the truth but it turns out he hadn't got a clue what was going on anymore. Seth and Rose always seemed happy together and seemed to have a lot in common, they were laughing all the time and getting close and now it was becoming clear to Artie. Obviously there was something between them but both were too afraid to admit it.

"I can't stand between them," Artie murmured to himself as he rubbed his eyes out of tiredness. "If they're happy together I shouldn't get in the way" Artie sighed as he said that, as much as he liked Rose he couldn't continue this relationship if he wasn't what she really needed. It had always been Seth; he could see that now, right from the beginning he could see that Rose was hooked on Seth. Everything about him made Rose smile and they enjoyed each other's company, so he shouldn't get in the way of that. He definitely needed to speak to Rose about all of this, but would she be okay? The nurse hadn't come out to tell him any bad news yet so he hoped that she'd be all right and survive.

Nothing would ever be the same if Rose died.

"Artie? Would you like to follow me please," The nurse said as she spotted Artie staring at the wall looking blank. But he turned to face her and say "Is Rose okay?"

"She's fine now"

"So she hasn't died," Artie said relieved and smiled slightly.

"She's just resting now, the doctors have wired her up to some machines to monitor her heartbeat but she's fine now"

"Thank goodness for that"

"If you follow me I can take you to her" Artie then got up and followed the nurse towards Rose's room.

"You can stay as long as you like, just press the button here (she pointed to a button on the wall) if you need anything and I'll come in"

"Okay thank you"

"And just to let you know, she'll be struggling to speak for a little while because of the tubes that had to be put down her throat to clean her stomach out"

"Oh"

"But she should be alright in the next couple of days"

"Okay I'll be sure to take care of her" Artie replied and watched as the nurse left the room leaving him alone with Rose. He turned to face her and instantly he felt his heart breaking, she looked so fragile wired up to machines. But at least she was alive!

"Oh Rose sweetie what did you do to yourself" Artie said as he walked over to her bedside and sat down on one of the chairs. He touched her hand lightly but jumped when she began to stir and open her eyes. She groaned in pain and reached up to hold her throat "Rose honey can you hear me?" Artie said and smiled in relief when Rose turned her head to face him. At first she looked relieved but then she stared down at her blanket looking blank.

"Rose please try and speak to me"

"Why?" Rose croaked out and then held her throat again.

"Here drink this" Artie said holding out a cup of water to her, she took it and drank it slowly, feeling the cold water soothe her throat.

"Better?"

"A little" Rose replied with a whisper as she set the cup down carefully on the table next to her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty rough"

"Wanna explain to me what happened?"

"Not really"

"Why?"

"You heard what Harriet said"

"Yeah we all did"

"So you shouldn't be here, I'm nothing and worthless"

"Rose that's not true!"

"Yes it is, everything she said was true"

"It's not Rose, you've got it all wrong"

"I am nothing, my daddy left and mama wanted me dead"

"Rose nothing Harriet said was true; you're an amazing young woman with her whole life ahead of her. Look at what you've created...your own cartoon to be sent worldwide! You're amazing and you've got a lot to look forward too in your life. Don't ever throw it away just because of somebody else's jealously"

"But-"

"No buts Rose, Harriet has been jealous of you for years"

"Why?"

"Because you've got everything she hasn't, good looks, an amazing personality and your dignity and pride. She's thrown all of that away so now she wants to destroy your life as well. She's nothing Rose and you're everything" Rose just stared down at her blanket feeling the tears welling up in her eyes.

She felt upset and she also felt angry, "So why didn't you say anything at the party to help me?"

"Because-"

"You all just stood there and believed her"

"We were just stunned that's all"

"You made me feel so worthless"

"I'm so sorry Rose, we were just so surprised"

"Even Seth didn't say anything"

"He looked stunned that Harriet was even there"

"She's a psycho"

"But this brings me to my other questions"

"Oh" Rose said quietly as she sipped on her drink again to soothe her throat from the burning sensation. Artie cleared his throat and sighed, "I just wanna get this out whilst I can, I know that you and me are pretty close and we've been having a lot of fun, but every time I look in your eyes I can see that you're searching for something more. And every time we're around Seth you seemed to be happier like you've found what you're looking for. I know you idolise Seth but… is it something more than that?" Rose just listened to his words and stared down at the floor unable to put any words together. "I'm not angry at you sweetheart, I just need to know"

"I love him," Rose whispered as she wiped her face from the tears that slid down her cheeks.

"It's okay Rose"

"No it's not okay, I feel like I've just been stringing you along"

"But you haven't Rose, we've had our fun and we're best friends"

"We are?"

"Yes of course we are! You're amazing and I don't want to lose you"

"But I feel awful"

"You shouldn't, honestly its okay"

"But you must feel horrible"

"I think I've always known we should just stay as friends, we're comfortable around each other and have a lot in common"

"But-"

"Seth is the one you want Rose, it's clear to everybody back in the studios"

"It is?"

"Yep, even Alex can see it"

"She was the one who got me to admit it in the first place"

"Yeah she's good at spotting these things"

"I'm so sorry Artie"

"Don't be, I'm fine Rose. Just grateful that you're alive"

Rose sighed and said, "I just needed to escape"

"What ever possessed you to do such a thing?"

"It was just what she said that hurt"

"It wasn't true Rose, so many people love and care about you"

Rose just stared up at the ceiling and said, "How did you even find me?"

"We all came after you once you'd ran away"

"What about Seth?"

"He stayed at home" Rose frowned then and just rubbed her eyes, "He would have come but he needed to watch the house and clean up"

"Did the party carry on afterwards?"

"Nope Harriet got escorted off the property and Seth just sent everyone away"

"Oh"

"He seemed pretty pissed"

"So why didn't he come after me?"

"I don't know Rose"

"He obviously doesn't love me"

"I think he does Rose, but now that I've thought about it I've realised he was keeping his distance because we were together"

"So he was jealous?"

"I'd say he was yeah"

"But you two are best friends and I'm not coming in between you and making you hate each other"

"Rose I couldn't hate Seth; even if he started dating my mother or sister I couldn't hate him"

"Really?"

"Yeah he's been there for me throughout the last 7 years and I couldn't ever hate him"

"Oh"

"He's the most genuine down to earth man I've ever met, I remember when I said I'd never watched Star Trek before and he was stunned. Next thing I know I've got the whole box set sitting on my desk as a gift from him"

"That sounds nice"

"It was he's incredible, he'll take care of you"

"But Artie this doesn't feel right, you seem so calm about all of this!"

"Honestly Rose it's okay, I know we were dating but you know as well as I do that we were both too scared to do anything"

"But I thought you've had a relationship before?"

"I have and I know what to do and how to charm a woman but with you it was different"

"Different in a good way?"

"Yeah of course! It was just you made me so nervous, I felt to afraid to kiss you as I feared I wouldn't be good enough for you"

"That's silly Artie"

"I know but that's just how you made me feel. You've got the ability to light up a dim room Rose, whenever you're at the studios its fun, we have a good laugh and do things we've never done before"

"Like what?"

"Well I don't think there's ever been a water fight there before, plus nobody has ever been able to get Seth to laugh during voice recordings"

"I was only standing near the door watching him"

"Rose you were pulling faces at him!" Rose smiled and Artie smiled back, "See there you go, you're smiling again"

"But I still feel rough"

"I still can't believe you did that though, Rose what if you'd have died!"

"I don't know, I wouldn't be missed"

"Rose you've got it all wrong, Alex was in floods of tears when she found you and do you know who the first she called is?"

"No"

"Seth"

"Why?"

"Because he was worried sick about you"

"Again he didn't come after me so why bother with him?" Artie sighed and knew he wasn't getting anywhere with this. Both Seth and Rose were too stubborn or too afraid to admit their feelings to each other. But Rose did have a point; Seth didn't seem interested in chasing after Rose when she ran off. He was too interested in looking after the house yet he had maids and housekeepers there cleaning up the mess.

"See you can see my point too" Rose said when she noticed Artie looking lost in thoughts.

"Yeah I guess I can"

"So there's no point in admitting my feelings towards him if he's just gonna be like that"

"I'm sure there's an explanation for it, I'll speak to him about it"

"When?" Artie looked at his watch and saw it was just heading up to 8am; Seth wouldn't be at the studios yet.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any"

"You're leaving now?"

"If you don't want me to I'll stay"

"No it's alright, you look like you need sleep and if you're in work you better get cleaned and changed"

"Okay then but I'll be sure to come visit you later on"

"I'll still be here don't worry, the nurse said I'd be here for a couple days to rest"

"Well I'll be back later then; I might even have Alex with me"

"Sounds great"

"I'll see you later then" Artie then got up from his chair and pulled Rose into a gentle hug, "I'm sorry Artie" Rose whispered again as she clung to Artie. "It's alright Rose I forgive you, just focus on getting yourself better" Artie then pulled away and looked at Rose and smiled slightly, "Hey don't look so down about things, you'll be alright" he then touched her nose lightly and then headed out the door to exit the hospital to head home.

* * *

Seth was sat at his desk nursing his coffee; he hadn't been to work this early in a long time, especially being hung over! But everything that had happened in the past few hours kept his brain from shutting down so he couldn't even think about sleep. So now he was tired, cranky and worried shitless about Rose, what if she had died during the night? What if the nurses couldn't do anything and pronounced her dead? That thought scared him; a world without Rose wasn't worth living for. She meant everything to him and if she had died then he wouldn't want to face living either.

Sighing deeply to himself, Seth started gathering up some papers to try and refocus his brain into working. But as it was only 8:30am he couldn't quite manage to convince himself to work. He hadn't sleep for nearly 24 hours now and he needed some rest, plus he needed to pay everybody who had cleaned his house last night. They'd worked throughout the night getting it back to normal and he was grateful of their help.

The orchestra had left their equipment there and said they'd come and pick it up later today, then everything had to be put back into place and then hopefully his house would be normal again. So then he could go to bed without being disturbed by anything.

"Need sleep," Seth mumbled to himself as he pulled out another piece of paper to start drawing on, but all he was drawing was Rose. He wanted to know if she was okay but the thought of going to the hospital creeped him out, he hated places like that. And to walk down the corridor to be told that Rose was dead was a frightening thought, so he opted against it. He sighed again but jumped when his door suddenly burst open,

"Alex" Seth said surprised as he watched Alex storm into his office.

"Seth" Alex replied coldly.

"What can I do for you?"

"Don't you dare act innocent!"

"I'm not-"

"Do you even know how Rose is?"

"Is she-?"

"She's alive Seth"

"Oh thank god!"

"But if you loved her like you said, you'd have known that by now!"

"What do you mean?"

"You chickened out on coming to the hospital with us!"

"I had to look after the house"

"Bullshit Seth! Complete bullshit"

"But-"

"You had maids and housekeepers who could have looked after it whilst we searched for Rose, you didn't see the state she was in!"

"But-"

"Why Seth? Why? Why didn't you come with us? Rose needed you!"

"She does not need me, she's got Artie"

"You've got it all wrong Seth"

"Okay, fill me in then"

"Rose loves you"

"Stop lying"

"I'm not lying! That's what she was going to speak to you about"

"When?"

"When you'd finished singing on stage she was going to pull you aside to tell you, but then Harriet came" Seth frowned deeply, so now Rose loved him? Yet she was dating Artie? That was just mixed up and nonsense.

"Don't make things up Alex, she doesn't love me"

"Yes she does! She's head over heels for you!"

"Then why was she was Artie!"

"She was afraid to leave him for you, you two are best friends Seth and Rose was terrified of hurting both of you and she didn't want you to fall out over it!" Seth just looked at Alex trying to find any traces of her lying to him, but he couldn't find anything. "She told me the truth at the party, that she loved you and that you were her idol"

"I knew I was her idol but I never thought she'd love me"

"Well she does Seth, and if you love her then what's the problem? What's stopping you from going to the hospital to see her?"

"I just can't okay? Seeing somebody you love wired up to machines keeping them alive" Alex sighed and looked at Seth who looked beside himself, he was still dressed in his tux was last night and looked tired.

"You should go home Seth to change and rest, you look awful"

"Thanks Alex"

"I'm just saying that's all. Plus it's not right finding you here at such an early hour on a Saturday morning"

"I just couldn't sleep"

"Why?"

"Because of everything that has happened!"

"Okay easy, don't yell"

"Sorry"

"Just go home and rest okay? You'll feel better later"

Seth sighed and felt himself giving in. "Okay I'll go home and rest"

"Good"

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you"

"It's alright sweetie"

"I'd be useless without you"

"Well if you play your cards right, Rose will be the one to take care of you in the future" Seth smiled slightly as he thought about that, having Rose as his girlfriend sounded perfect. "Anyway sweetie you should go home and rest, call me when you feel a little better" Alex said and smiled when Seth nodded and rose from his chair. But both turned their attention to the door when it suddenly flew open again to reveal a very tired looking Artie.

"Artie, my god where have you been?" Alex asked surprised.

"At the hospital all night with Rose"

"Is she alright now?"

"She had her stomach pumped and she was wired up to machines"

"Is she awake?"

"Yeah I spoke to her this morning"

"You don't sound happy"

"That's because I'm not"

"Oh"

"Alex can you please leave me and Seth alone for a few minutes? It won't take long"

"Err sure, Seth remember what we spoke about" is all Alex said before she quickly left the room leaving the two men alone.

"So" is all Seth said as he looked at Artie, "Rose is okay?"

"Yes she's fine"

"Good"

"But if you cared for her then you would have gone to see her"

"Oh, well I-"

"She's somebody you're close too"

"Yeah but-"

"And you have a lot in common with her"

"Artie I really-"

"She'd be glad to see you"

"Artie I hate hospitals okay!" Seth replied feeling his temper rising, it was a rarity to see him angry but now he was tired and cranky, not a good mix.

"It's gotta be more than that Seth"

"I just couldn't go"

"Why not?"

"Because how would you feel if you saw the woman you loved wired up to machines keeping her alive!"

Artie was stunned at Seth's anger outburst but said, "You love her?"

"Yes I do Artie"

"Well why didn't you chase after her at the party?!"

"Because I was too stunned about what Harriet said"

"So you believe it?"

"No of course not!"

"So why didn't you come after her!"

"Because I was a coward okay! I couldn't face it!"

"Seth that girl is in love with you! You've broken her heart by not being there for her!"

Seth was surprised at Artie's words, "What?"

"She's been in love with you for weeks!"

"But-"

"It wasn't me she wanted and it never will be, it's always been you"

"But you were dating-"

"Me and Rose could never be together, yeah we've got everything in common but she's always been searching for something more, and that lies within you"

"Me?"

"Yes Seth, you"

"But-"

"She only stayed with me because she didn't wanna hurt me, she hates hurting people"

"You seem so calm"

"I was a little angry and confused when I put it all together and worked it out, but now I'm over it"

"You are?"

"Seth I could never be angry with you or Rose"

"Why?"

"Because you're my best friend, Seth we go way back!"

Seth smiled a little but then said "You've gotta be angry though, it's too weird watching somebody be calm about this"

"Honestly it's alright, I'm happy for you two"

"She really loves me?"

"Yeah she admitted it this morning"

"You sure it wasn't the drugs?"

"Nope" Artie replied with a small smile.

"But this is all messed up; she probably won't even talk to me anymore"

"You've just gotta try Seth"

"But she's so stubborn"

"Still gotta try" Seth sighed and looked down at the floor, Rose loved him? He should be happy about that but he was too tired to think straight. "Seth please go home and sleep"

"You should too"

"I guess we all look terrible this morning"

"It was one heck of a night I'll give you that"

"Well Seth you are famous for throwing wild parties"

"I just can't believe that happened though"

"Harriet's always been full of jealously"

"Yeah I figured that out a couple days ago"

"You did?"

"Yeah it's always been jealously from Harriet towards Rose. Any time her name was mentioned Harriet went crazy about it"

"Damn bitch"

"Tell me about it"

"Anyway we should go and get some sleep" Both men stood up and looked at each other, unsure of what to do. But Seth extended his arm and said "No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings" Artie replied as he shook Seth's hand and then they both hugged.

It had certainly been an emotional night for everybody, Seth now knew that Rose loved him, but what would he do about it?


	13. Chapter 13

"There's no place like home," Rose said quietly as she walked down the hallways towards her dorm room. "Home is the best place" Artie replied with a small smile as he followed Rose down the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Artie asked when he noticed Rose looked confused when she stood outside her room.

"My door's different"

"Oh yeah, that"

"Something you're not telling me?"

"Well when you ran away from the party remember we came to find you but you'd obviously locked the door so I had to kick it down to get in there"

"Oh"

"But don't worry it's all been paid for, you just need the keys to get in" then Artie fished the keys out of his pocket and handed them to Rose. She then opened the door and stepped inside and looked around, "Wow it's tidy in here"

"Yeah we had to clean up"

"Was it that bad in here?"

"We just had to move some things around so that the paramedics could come in and get you out" Rose just looked down at the floor feeling awkward as everything was coming back to her. She'd spent about 3 days in hospital resting and getting her energy back and now she felt a lot better. But coming back to her apartment now, all of the memories were slowly creeping back into her head.

"Are you okay?" Artie asked as he noticed that Rose looked uncomfortable.

"Yeah I'm er-"

"Rose you can tell me"

"It's just that everything is coming back to me that's all"

"Do you want me to stay with you for a couple days? I know you say you're ready to be on your own again but are you sure?"

"Artie I couldn't do that to you, you've been glued to my side for the past 3 days and you need some proper rest and a good night's sleep. But thank you for offering and thank you for everything you've done" Rose smiled at him making Artie smile back.

"Just as long as you're sure"

"I am sure"

"Good, well you've got my number if you need me"

"I will definitely call you if I need you"

"Okay then, and make sure to give Alex a call soon. She's been worried about you"

"I will I promise" Artie smiled and then pulled Rose into a hug, she hugged back and smiled. "I best take off then" Artie said pulling away from Rose who smiled and said "Okay then, I guess I'll see you round" she still felt awkward about everything that had happened between them, especially when she admitted her real feelings for Seth.

"Hey don't look so down okay? We're still good friends Rose and I want it to still be like it was before, with you coming down to the studios and having a laugh with the guys"

"Artie come on I can't keep doing that, surely you're all busy and I can't keep intruding there. Sooner or later I'm gonna outstay my welcome"

Artie pulled a face but then said, "You can still come down to hang out for a while"

"I'll think about it okay?"

"That's all I ask" Artie then hugged Rose once more before waving goodbye and heading out the door leaving Rose alone.

"So… I guess its back to the normal routine" Rose said to herself as she looked around her apartment again. She walked into the living room and looked down at the floor and shuddered. It was where she collapsed after overdosing and it sent chills through her when she thought about it. Part of her felt stupid for doing it, she was much stronger than that yet she fell into Harriet's trap and made herself feel weak and worthless. She wasn't that at all! She was bright, smart and had a happy positive outlook on life. Her life was only just beginning yet she almost threw it away over jealously… what was she thinking?!

"Move onwards and upwards" Rose mumbled as she headed into her bedroom to change into her some clean clothes. Artie had been nothing but generous when she was in the hospital, he brought her clean clothes, gifts, flowers and everything else. He was the only one who'd been to visit her in the hospital which did make her feel upset. Why hadn't anybody else come to see her? They claimed they were her 'friends' so why didn't they come and see her?

"They're obviously not worth it" Rose said as she gathered her washing up to put it in the washing machine. "Obviously they weren't friends, that even includes Seth" Rose frowned at that, if what Artie had said was true, Seth was in love with her yet couldn't be bothered to visit her in hospital? That wasn't right in her mind, if you loved and cared for somebody you'd do anything for them and accept them for who they are. So what if she had a little hiccup in her life, at least she grew stronger and taller and could move on!

"You're all in my past now and can stay there" Rose said as she slammed the door shut on the washing machine and then started it on the low wash. She felt angry about this situation now, if they were friends they'd be trying to talk to her or at least pay her a visit in the hospital!

Ever since she'd won that competition her life had done nothing but spiral out of control. She lost her 'best friend', met and fell in love with Seth MacFarlane, dated his assistant, become best friends with Alex Borstein and then tried to kill herself… and all of this happened within 6 weeks!

Rose had always lived a normal and good life; she did everything to the best of her ability and never broke any rules. She was a complete bookworm, she loved writing and drawing and was often referred to as a nerd. But she didn't care; at least she hadn't screwed her life up! She hadn't had a baby at a stupid age, slept with everybody in her class, flunked her classes and skipped school. She was pretty normal but ever since winning that competition she had stepped out of her box and it felt weird. She'd managed to gain confidence, make people laugh and have a LOT of fun, a thing she rarely did. But that didn't feel right, she was used to living in her own world, but Seth, Alex and everybody else had brought out a side of her she'd never seen before.

It was the fun, happy and confident Rose, not the quiet, shy and scared Rose everybody else knew.

"Maybe it's best to move on and forget them," Rose said as she sat on her couch and thought about everything. Would it be better for everybody if she just moved on and forgot them? Obviously they'd forgotten about her as they couldn't be bothered to get in touch with her, ask her how she was doing or if she needed anything or anybody. So why bother with them? Even Seth hadn't even spoken to her; he couldn't even say anything at the party to help her! Harriet had tried to do everything in her power to humiliate Rose and she'd certainly succeeded.

Everybody had been making comments and even laughed at the scars on her back, it was so humiliating! Their laughter still rung in her ears and it made her sigh in sadness. She was probably a laughing stock at Uni and now she had to face going to class seeing everybody. Harriet had probably done her best to make sure everybody knew about what happened, twist and turn it so that she looked like the victim and Rose was the one who caused all of the trouble.

With how many celebrities and paparazzi there were at Seth's party, there were probably hundreds of rumours spreading around the newspapers and the Internet. This was certainly gonna be difficult to get through but Rose just had to keep her head held high and forget about it. She had a lot to focus on with her Uni assignments, she'd slipped behind since being in hospital and now needed to keep her head down and get some serious work done. Forget about Seth and everybody else, they weren't important anymore; it was her work that had to come first and thinking about what she wanted to do with her life in the future. But she knew for definite that her future didn't lie within Seth, it was time to move onwards and upwards!

* * *

"Oh my god girl what happened to you?!" Amy said to her friend once she opened her front door and saw the state of Rose. "Hey" is all Rose said as she tried to keep the tears from forming. She hadn't been able to open up and talk to anybody for days and now seeing Amy, she wanted to open the floodgates and let everything go.

"Oh Rose, honey come here" Amy said pulling Rose into a hug once she saw just how upset and fragile she looked.

Since being in hospital Rose's weight had dropped dramatically and now she only weighed about 110 pounds, which wasn't healthy, she needed that 10 pounds back otherwise she'd be back in hospital again. "I'm sorry" Rose choked out as she held onto Amy who was rubbing her pack for comfort.

"Honey let's sit down and talk" Amy said leading Rose over to her couch so they could sit down and talk. "Now tell me what's wrong" Amy said when they were both sat down and Rose had managed to contain her tears. She then went on to explain everything to Amy who looked surprised at everything she'd told her, but she gasped and held back tears when Rose explained what happened and how she was in hospital.

"Oh Rose honey" Amy said tearfully once Rose had finished telling her everything. Then she pulled her into a hug causing both women to start crying. Rose was too emotional to speak and crying it out made her feel better; it was comforting talking to Amy about it instead of bottling it up.

"You've been through so much, why didn't you come and see me? I could have helped!"

"I thought I could handle it" Rose replied as she wiped her eyes from the tears. "Rose I know you try and handle everything and battle your way through, but its okay to ask for help from time to time"

"It is?"

"Yes of course it is! Rose you can't try and do everything, you should have come and got me I could have helped!"

"But you've been tied up with Charlotte and Jack and I didn't want to get in the way"

"Honey they're fine, they'd have tried to help too"

Rose smiled a little but then said "I just didn't know what else to do"

"But trying to kill yourself Rose is going too far"

"Amy please don't lecture me on this, I need some support"

"I am supporting you honey, I'm just surprised that's all"

"I know and I'm sorry about it, but what Harriet said just got to me"

"If I see that girl-"

"Just don't bother Amy, she's not worth it"

"But all this time she's been jealous of you! Tried to ruin your life and now saying she'd laugh if you died? That's just sick!"

"I know and I wish I could do something but I'd just like to put it behind me and move on from it"

"Well if that's what you feel comfortable with"

"It is"

"Then I'll support you through it, if you need anything then I'll be there" Rose smiled slightly but then Amy said, "So what's gonna happen with this whole Seth thing?"

"How'd you mean?"

"Well if you admitted you loved him and if he loves you-"

"Nothing is going to happen"

"Really?"

"Yep"

"Why?"

"Because I just wanna move on Amy, he hurt me by not even bothering to come and see me"

"But you must still love and care about him"

"I do, it hurts so damn much whenever I think about him, I love and admire the man but since meeting him my life has changed too much"

"Changed how?"

"I finally saw the true Harriet and stood up for myself and got her out of my life, Seth changed the way I look at life, I've made people laugh and that's a thing I don't do often, I've managed to gain the confidence to send off my student film to Korea to get coloured and animated, I'm changing"

"So why is that bad?"

"Because I'm not used to it"

"But Rose you've gotta accept change, it happens all the time and we just have to accept it for what it is. Ever since I've known you, you've always cared about what others think, and this Seth has obviously changed the way you feel and made you step out of the box you've built around yourself. It's a good thing and you've just gotta embrace it and accept it for what it is"

"So you're saying, I've gotta accept this change?"

"Yeah of course! You've been confident in yourself in the few times I've seen you around, you even stood up for yourself with Harriet! That's an amazing thing to do Rose, and I'm proud of you"

"Even after what I did?"

"Well yeah, even though what you did was foolish and stupid I still love and support you. It was just a small hiccup in your life and I'm happy that you're strong enough to move on from it" Rose smiled but smiled wider when she saw Charlotte toddle through the door with her cup of milk.

"Hey beautiful" Amy said picking Charlotte up and sitting her on her lap and kissing her head. "Ro" is all Charlotte said pointing to Rose who smiled and held Charlotte's small hand.

"Hey sweetheart" Rose said softly getting a toothy smile off Charlotte in return.

"Well that sounds like Jack, I'll be back in a moment" Amy said handing Charlotte to Rose before heading upstairs to go and fetch Jack who was crying down the baby monitor.

"Ro been sad" Charlotte said putting her hand on Rose's cheek, "Hap" is all she said before kissing Rose on the cheek making her smile. "Rose hasn't been happy lately Charlotte but I'm all better and happy now" Rose said to Charlotte with a smile and then kissed her head.

"I think a little young man knew you were here," Amy said once she'd come back into the living room with Jack who was babbling away and chewing at his hands. Rose just smiled at Jack once Amy had sat down carefully and sat him on her lap.

"Aww he's so beautiful" Rose said, "Can he laugh yet?"

"Nope not yet, I've been trying but obviously I'm not funny enough"

"Aww don't worry he'll laugh soon"

"I can't wait to hear it"

"I'm sure it'll be amazing"

"Wanna take em' for a walk?"

"Huh?"

"You know… in the stroller? Maybe we can all go to the park?"

"Yeah that'd be nice"

"You don't sound too sure on that"

"Oh I am don't worry it's just-"

"Just?"

"There were a lot of celebrities and paparazzi at Seth's party and if they heard what happened I'd be followed"

"Nonsense! Trust me with me around they won't come near you, I'll set Charlotte on them" Rose smiled and then laughed when Charlotte started blowing raspberries, "See she can use her secret weapon on them!" Amy said and then laughed when Charlotte laughed to herself. Rose smiled widely at that, the first real smile in days!

Maybe she was finally moving on after all!

* * *

"See isn't this fun?" Amy said to Rose who was finger painting with Charlotte on the blanket that Amy laid out on the grass. "Yeah I gotta admit this is fun," Rose said cleaning her finger to choose another colour. "Nobody is bothering us and it's another beautiful day" Rose smiled and then looked up at the sky, it was clear blue and the sun was shining down brightly. Amy had chosen a spot under a big oak tree so they were sitting in the shade, but the warm breeze was blowing lightly keeping them warm.

"I'm sorry for being so paranoid about everything"

"Don't worry about it Rose, obviously you'd have some doubts whether somebody would say something but people don't care anymore"

"You sure?"

"Of course" Rose smiled again as she turned her attention to Charlotte who was still painting and having fun.

"Want some ice cream?" Amy asked getting out her purse, "Err yeah sure but I'll pay-"

"Nonsense I'll get it" Amy replied with a bright smile and then said to Charlotte, "Want some ice cream sweetie?"

"Yes pwease"

"Okay come"

"Come wif come wif" Charlotte said getting up and going over to Amy.

"Okay sweetie you can come, Rose you gonna be alright with Jack?"

"Yeah we'll be fine" Rose said with a smile as she looked at Jack who was babbling and kicking away on the blanket. He was dribbling a lot but at least he was happy. Rose smiled as she watched Amy walked over to the ice cream stand with Charlotte but then she turned back to Jack. "Hey gorgeous" Rose said as she touched Jack on the nose, "You having fun down there" Jack just gurgled and made more noises as he watched Rose. But she smiled and then decided to try and make him laugh, so she pulled a few faces and blew raspberries and was surprised to hear him laughing.

"Oh wow you're laughing!" Rose said excitedly as she watched Jack laugh as she pulled more silly faces. "You're so beautiful! You're laugh is amazing" Rose said picking Jack up on the floor and then held him up, she pulled more faces and laughed when Jack laughed again. But the voice behind her startled her, "Hey" she turned around and saw that it was Seth standing there.

"Hi" is all she said as she put Jack back on the floor and gave him a rattle to play with. "Can we talk?" Seth asked as he crouched down slowly to Rose's height.

"I've gotta watch Jack" Rose replied as she tried to calm her nerves. As much as she told herself to forget about him, he could still give her so many butterflies in her tummy she felt giddy!

"Look Rose-"

"You're actually lucky I'm with Jack right now otherwise I would have walked off"

"Just let me-"

"There's nothing to explain okay? I get it, you just don't care"

"That's not true Rose"

"Oh really? So why didn't you come and see me in the hospital?"

"Because I-"

"Or phone me to see how I was doing"

"I-"

"If you all cared about me like you say you would have come to see me"

"Look it's not that simple Rose!" Seth said loudly causing Rose's eyes to widen in surprise, "I was stupid I'll admit that but there were reasons we couldn't come and see you"

"And what are they exactly?"

"We were just so shocked about it"

"From what I've been told, you even chickened out on coming to find me when I ran away"

"Because-"

"If you cared about me you would have chased after me instead of standing there looking like an idiot, it was like you believed what Harriet said!"

"I didn't believe her Rose"

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was foolish alright? I was just surprised to hear what she said, let alone how the hell she got on my property past security"

"I just can't believe you didn't come after me"

"I was just so surprised"

"Out of all the people there, I wanted you to chase after me and try to stop me, comfort me and make things better again"

"Life isn't always like that though Rose"

"Don't you dare try and crawl out of this! If you love me like I love you then you would have done something, and then come to see me in hospital!"

"Rose I hate hospitals"

"That's not good enough"

"Okay then how about this, I hate hospitals and couldn't face it because the girl I'm in love with was wired up to machines keeping her alive! I couldn't go through that, what if the nurse told me you'd died!"

"But I was fi-"

"When Alex rang me on the night they found you, you were barely alive, if they'd have found you just a little bit later you'd have been dead. I couldn't afford to hear that you'd died otherwise I'd go insane, my life isn't worth living without you Rose" Rose just listened to Seth's words but she was still too angry to take any of them seriously.

"You're just lying Seth, just trying to worm your way back into my life"

"I'm not-"

"It doesn't matter okay! Ever since I won that competition my life has just spiralled out of control and changed too much for my likings, so I'm changing it back! I just wanna move on Seth! It's too awkward to see you knowing you weren't there for me when I needed you"

"But-"

"When I forced all of those tablets down my throat I realised it was a mistake but it was too late, I was fading to black and felt my world crumbling around me. The last person I saw in my mind was you, I uttered your name before I passed out and that's the last thing I remember. It wasn't Artie, or Alec, or even Danny… it was you! But you didn't come" Seth was left speechless at her words and just looked down at his shoes feeling awful. "So I think it's best to just move on Seth, yes I may love you but I just have to move on. It's best for me and probably best for you, all of this drama has probably affected your reputation and I don't want you to get more paparazzi following you around and criticising you"

"Rose it's not about the paparazzi"

"Plus you deserve somebody much better than me, maybe somebody famous!"

"Rose there's nobody better than you"

"But it's been nothing but trouble since we met"

"It doesn-"

"It does to me Seth, I don't like causing trouble and making people fall out. I like everything to be normal and happy"

"But-"

"So it's best to just move on Seth" Rose then looked down at the floor trying to fight tears, her heart was screaming for her to take back what she said but she was ignoring it. She didn't want any more drama in her life so moving on from Seth was for the better.

"Well if this is what you want Rose" Seth said with sadness in his voice, Rose could have sworn she heard his voice crack but she didn't read into it.

"It is" is all she whispered and then looked down at her shoes again. "Well then… goodbye" Seth said sadly as he got up from the floor slowly and stood to his full height. Rose couldn't bear to look at him as he walked away; this was the second time she'd done this to him and both times she felt horrible afterwards. But this was for the best; she didn't need him in her life causing more drama and frustration. Everything had changed since she met him and she didn't know whether it was for the best or not.

"Girl you better explain to me what just happened" Amy said once she'd returned from the ice cream stand with Charlotte. She'd watched the whole thing but she never expected to see Seth walking away with tears in his eyes.

"I let him know the truth" Rose said tearfully as she still stared down at her shoes. "Oh honey come here" Amy said setting the ice creams and drinks down on the floor so she could hug her friend. "I love him so much" Rose said finally cracking and crying again. Amy just held onto her as she cried and felt bad,

"There's still time to make this right you know"

"No there isn't, I don't want it to change. I just wanna move on Amy"

"Okay then, just remember I'm gonna help you through this"

"I have made the right decision haven't I?"

"I can't answer that for you sweetie, this was your decision and whatever choices you make I'll support them" Rose just clung onto Amy as more tears fell from her eyes; she was hurt and broken inside. She needed Seth but she had to move on from him to cut the drama out of her life. Everything would be okay soon though right?

She'd made the right decision; she didn't need Seth… did she?


	14. Chapter 14

"Hello?"

"Rose?"

"Artie? Is that you?"

"Yeah it is"

"Oh wow, hi how are you?"

"I'm good thanks, how about you?"

"I'm okay yeah"

"That's good"

"I'm happy to hear from you"

"Well it's been about 2 months since I last spoke to you or even seen you; I thought it was best to check in"

"Yeah I'm sorry about that"

"I was a little hurt by it if I'm honest"

"I am sorry Artie; I just thought it was best for everyone"

"Why Rose?"

"Because it was trouble right from the start"

"I heard about the incident with Seth in the park"

"Oh, you did huh?"

"Yep"

"Ermm…"

"Seth came into the studios looking hurt and upset"

"Oh"

"So I thought it was best to ask him what was wrong to try and help, and then he just broke down"

"Broke down?"

"And cried"

"Oh" Rose said feeling a pang of guilt in her stomach, she made him cry? Wow he must have been really hurt to cry over it.

"He was a mess so I tried to get him to calm down and talk; eventually he did and then explained everything that happened"

"I feel awful now"

"I'm not trying to guilt trip you Rose, but I can be honest and say you were foolish for doing that"

"Excuse me?"

"You let the man you love just walk away from you! You pushed him away when you knew you needed him and he needed you!"

"But I-"

"Rose please stop trying to deny your feelings"

"I had a good reason for it!"

"And that is?"

"Because he changed me Artie! He brought out a side of me that I'd never seen before and I got scared because it wasn't really me, so I wanted everything to go back to normal and that meant pushing everybody away, even Seth"

"And me"

"Artie-"

"Rose you've hurt a lot of people around here"

"Okay now you're guilt tripping me"

"True"

"Artie that's not nice!"

"Well if you still love us and haven't forgotten us you can swing by the studios now if you like"

"What for?"

"Your animatic has returned"

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"But it's been 2 months!"

"Well like I said, sometimes they can be finished early, we can send off a whole episode filled with dance sequences and then 2 months later it can come back with colour and everything running smoothly"

"Oh right"

"So do you wanna swing by and take a look at it?"

"Does it play okay?"

"I don't know I haven't seen it yet or even opened the box, it's in Seth's office"

"Why?"

"They had to be signed by him so they're in there at the moment"

"I'm not sure if I should-"

"Don't worry I'll get it and we can screen it in the conference room"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! I'd be happy to see you again, as will everyone else"

"Well… alright then"

"You're saying yes?"

"I am"

"Well that's wonderful; I'll see you in a bit then"

"See you later"

"Bye Rose"

"Later Artie" Rose then hung up the phone and threw it onto the couch and sighed. It had been 2 long stressful months since she turned Seth away for the second time and now she had to see him again. She'd spent the last few weeks getting over him by focusing her mind on other things like her Uni assignments and working more hours down at work. She was saving up some money to move out of her dorm and into a nice apartment down the street. There were too many memories in this place and she needed a fresh start, so saving up every penny she earned was the plan. So far she'd done pretty well as she'd spent every evening down at work waiting on people and serving drinks behind the bar. That had made good money so she was almost ready to move out and make a fresh start.

Her life had pretty much gone back to normal now, no interaction with friends, no laughter or fun, just solid working on her assignments and working late nights at work. At first she loved it as it was just like it used to be, but then she started to miss coming home to find weird messages on her answer machine from Artie, Danny and Alec. They sometimes sang her songs and acted out different scenes from Family Guy, which then resulted into fighting down the phone. It always made her laugh and she loved it, but then after everything that happened they suddenly stopped and she felt lonely.

Sometimes she did miss making people laugh and being stupid in the writer's room at the studios, drawing funny characters and coming up with funny voices to match those characters. The laughter made her happy but now all that was left in her life was dull lifeless characters on her papers at home. They didn't seem to be funny to her anymore so she was lacking in ideas for her assignments.

These past 2 months had certainly been emotional but it was worth it, as she'd almost gotten over Seth. But seeing him again later could bring back a whirl of emotions and break down the wall she'd spent weeks building. "No, gotta remain strong" Rose said to herself as she wondered around her living room looking for her sneakers, "He can't hurt me anymore" Rose eventually found her sneakers, slipped them on and grabbed her jacket and keys, then headed out the door towards the studios to see everybody again.

* * *

"You can do this" Rose said to herself as she walked up to the FOX studios main entrance. She braced herself before opening the doors and stepping inside, looking around and smiling slightly. "Hey stranger" came a voice near the elevators making Rose smile widely, it was Artie and he seemed quite pleased to see her.

"Heyy" Rose said cheerfully as she walked up to him but wasn't sure whether to hug him, but Artie had already got that covered as he pulled Rose into a tight hug.

"You've been missed around here sweetie"

"I have? I thought I was hated?"

"Well there might be a bit of frost from Alex and Mila"

"Oh" Rose replied feeling quite awkward and uncomfortable now, would it be better to just go home?

"Hey it'll be alright"

"But it'll be awkward"

"I'm sure once they see you they'll come running with open arms"

"I hope"

"Chin up"

"But I'm still a little upset with them though"

"Why?"

"Because of not coming to visit me in the hospital"

"Man this is awkward"

"Which is why it would be for the best if I just go"

"No honestly just stay, please?" Rose sighed and looked into Artie's eyes knowing perfectly well that he was begging her inside.

"Okay I'll stay"

Artie smiled but then said "Oh I should warn you"

"What?"

"Seth's here"

"Oh crap" Rose said as she hung her head and looked down at the floor feeling even more uncomfortable.

"It'll be alright, he's been in his office all day"

"He has?"

"Yep"

"Doing what?"

"Just working through some paperwork until the table read"

"What time does that start?"

"Around 2pm" Rose looked at her watch and saw it was nearly 1pm so she wouldn't have to stay long, thank god for that!

"I can see the look on your face; Rose you're still welcome here"

"But you're busy with work"

"Wanna come upstairs and see your student film in colour?" Rose smiled at that, it was finally coloured and ready to be sent out to different companies! "Sure" Rose replied with a small smile and then let Artie lead the way up towards the family guy studios.

"See told you that you were missed" Artie said when he noticed how bewildered Rose looked when everybody was greeting her with smiles and waves as they walked past her.

"I guess you were right"

"Damn straight" Artie replied and laughed when Rose shoved him in the back as they walked down the corridors. "I thought Seth's office was that way" Rose said puzzled as she noticed Artie leading her towards the recording booths and the gag room.

"It is but I just needed to pick up something from over here"

"Oh okay" Rose replied eyeing Artie suspiciously as they walked along, he looked too suspicious to be telling the truth. "Artie are you sure-" Rose cut herself off when she looked up and saw everybody sitting on the couches near the recording booths. They were all talking and laughing but soon looked up and noticed two people enter the room.

"Well… look what the cat dragged in" Rose heard Alex say, which made her feel uncomfortable. But she looked up and saw Alex sitting on the couch not looking too happy. But she stood up and then walked over to where Rose was standing and folded her arms and frowned. Everybody had fallen silent to watch what was happening and hoped there wouldn't be a fight breaking out.

Rose just stared at Alex unable to find words as she was too emotional, everything had come flooding back to her and she felt like crying. Alex had been there for her since day one and had given her a lot of tips and advice about life and love, she also helped her realise her love and devotion to Seth.

Rose had to wipe her eyes from the tears as they were welling up and wouldn't stop. Alex noticed this and also felt tears forming, she couldn't be mad at Rose at all, she was like her baby!

"Oh man" is all Artie said as he watched both women crying and soon Alex said, "I love you!" and then pulled Rose into a hug, "I love you too!" Rose squeaked back and then cried on Alex's shoulder.

"Wait, wait, wait I wanna join in!" Mila said getting up from the couch and running over to both women, she hugged them both and started to cry as well.

"I'm so sorry Rose" Alex said when she leaned Rose back to look at her; she hadn't changed at all!

"I'm sorry too" Rose replied when she wiped her eyes.

"But you've got a lot of explaining to do missy"

"I know Alex"

"So we can sit down and discuss it now if you like?"

"Well I was gonna look at my student film but yeah I'd love to sit and talk with you"

"Good" Alex said with a smile and then led Rose and Mila to the conference room so they could sit and talk in private.

"You're not gonna shout at me are you?" Rose said once Alex had shut the door and sat herself down on one of the chairs. "Nope but I would like to bash your head on the desk for what you did to Seth" Rose looked down at the table feeling awful, she'd forgotten that Seth and Alex were best friends and told each other everything.

"Was it that bad?"

"Well it's the first time I've seen him cry and I've known him for 10 years now"

"Oh man" Rose said feeling more tears forming in her eyes.

"That man is so in love with you he can barely sleep at night and now he's barely eating"

"I've really screwed him up haven't I?"

"Just a little bit"

"Oh"

"Whatever possessed you to turn him down? You love him!"

"Alex it's complicated"

"How is it? A guy meets a girl; they fall in love and are supposed to live happily ever after"

"He changed me too much"

"Changed you?"

"Alex I'm not used to being confident and having a lot of friends, I've always been the loner and I'm used to it"

"But-"

"But when I won this competition everything changed, I was happier, confident and so sure of myself. I finally saw Harriet's true colours and kicked her to the curb, I got my student film completed and I could make people laugh"

"So what's wrong with that?"

"I really hate repeating myself but I was just scared, I came out of the box I was living in and showed my true colours, I showed people I could be fun and it even scared me"

"So why do you want to get rid of that?"

"I don't know, I don't know whether I want too"

"Man you're really confused aren't you?" Mila said noticing Rose struggling to put sentences together. "Just a bit Mila" Rose said slumping down in her chair and rubbing her eyes. Alex just looked at Rose feeling her heart breaking for her, she was young and confused and in need of help. But Rose needed to figure out what she wanted before anybody could help her.

"Rose you just really need to think about what you want right now, I know you're hurt and confused but just focus on what you want. Don't put anybody else before you and take some time away from your Uni assignments and think about what you truly want. Then hopefully you'll work this mess out" Rose sat listening to Alex's words and felt even more confused, she had been thinking about what she wanted and it concluded to wanting Seth. She wanted Seth and wanted to spend her life with him, he was perfect in every way… so what the hell was stopping her?

"Oh my god, you already know what you want don't you?" Mila said as she watched Rose's facial expressions, she was obviously thinking about Seth as her eyes glazed over with happiness.

"You want Seth but you're denying it again" Rose could only stare at Mila with guilt on her face as it was true, it was stupid to turn him away that day in the park, she should have chased after him and told him the truth.

"I want Seth" Rose whispered making Alex and Mila smile, "Then go get him" Rose smiled slightly but then looked at her watch and saw it was heading up to 2pm and the table read would be starting soon. And she still needed to watch her student film to make sure it was okay.

"Can I please watch my student film first? And then I promise after the table read I'll speak to him" Alex eyed Rose suspiciously for a while before saying "Alright then, but I'll be keeping a close eye on you"

Rose smiled and then said "Thank you and I'm sorry about all of the trouble I've caused"

"It's alright I forgive you, I just can't seem to get the image of Seth crying out of my head"

"Please stop trying to make me feel worse about it, you have no idea how crap I feel right now"

"I'm sorry honey, it was just a shock to the system" Alex replied and then pulled Rose into a tight hug. "Now go and find Artie to get this all sorted"

Rose smiled and then said, "I can't believe it's completed"

"Well I'm proud of you; maybe you can work here one day"

"Here's to wishful thinking," Rose said making Alex laugh as they exited the conference room to head back towards the crowd of people which had formed, as they were waiting for the table read to start.

"Heyy, everything sorted now?" Artie said when he noticed Alex, Mila and Rose heading back towards the gang looking a lot happier.

"Yep everything's sorted" Alex said happily as she watched Artie pull Rose into a gentle hug.

"Ready to go and get your film back?"

"Yep, lead the way" Rose replied.

"We'll see you in a little while" Alex said watching the two of them walk away to go and get Rose's student film.

"You sure you're okay?" Artie asked Rose as they walked towards Seth's office, she looked slightly confused and had fallen quiet since arriving in the building.

"I'm okay" Rose replied quietly.

"That bad huh?"

"How'd you guess?"

"It's just a gift to spot when a woman is unhappy"

"I'm still just a little confused and upset about everything, coming back here has opened up a wound I had nearly healed and now it's just a mess again"

"Wow I didn't know you felt that bad"

"It's nothing to do with you Artie honestly"

"That's good then"

"It's just about a certain someone whose office we're heading towards now"

"Oh crap I forgot about Seth"

"Yeah"

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine"

"You sure?"

"Yup, I did kinda wanna speak to him anyway"

"You do?"

"Alex gave me some more words of wisdom and made me realise a few things"

"So you planning on making up with him then?"

"It depends whether he'll want to speak to me" Just as Rose said that, Seth's office door opened to reveal Seth himself. Wearing denim jeans and a faded black long sleeved t-shirt, Rose could instantly tell he'd lost unnecessary weight.

"Hey man" Artie said cheerfully making Seth look up from the floor and smile slightly, "Hey man" Seth replied but then his eyes fell on Rose and he suddenly went quiet. Rose could see his face twinge with different emotions, the main one being anger.

So now he was angry with her? Oh man that wouldn't go down well.

"Seth" Rose said with as much politeness as she could. "Rose" Seth replied blankly and then turned to face Artie so he didn't see Rose's hurt look.

"What can I do for you?" Seth asked.

"Oh we just came to get Rose's student film, last I heard it was delivered to your office" Artie replied noticing the awkward tension between Seth and Rose, what was that about?

"Right, yeah it's here I'll go and get it" Seth replied as he turned around and headed back into his office.

"Wow that was tense" Artie murmured to Rose who still looked hurt; he was ignoring her now and being a blatant pain in the ass?

Seth emerged a few minutes later carrying a small box, which was wrapped up in tape and covered in labels. "It just got in about 3 days ago so I haven't had time to unpack it"

"Its okay man we'll deal with it"

"I hope it plays well for you"

"Well it's not my film remember, you should say that to Rose" Artie said sternly as he wasn't too happy with Seth's new attitude, what the hell had gotten into him this afternoon?

"I hope it plays well," Seth mumbled to Rose who just frowned and then turned around and headed down the corridor away from him.

"Nice one jackass" Artie said rounding on Seth who looked hurt and guilty. "What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know" Seth replied quietly.

"You don't know? You're in love with this girl and have just spent 2 months wishing you could see her and now you act like this?"

"I'm just confused Artie"

"So being angry with her will help will it?"

"Erm…

"Seth she came here to try and straighten things out with you!"

"She did?"

"Yes and now you act like this! I think I can safely say you've just blew your last chance with her" then Artie took the box off Seth and walked down the corridor to see if he could find Rose.

Seth just stood there feeling guilty and ashamed of himself, why the hell did he just act like that?! He'd spent the last 2 months living in hell wishing he could speak to her and see her beautiful face again, and now he'd just been given another chance and he'd blown it!

"Man I'm a jackass" Seth mumbled to himself as he walked back into his office to be alone for a while. The table read was in 15 minutes and he needed to be physically and mentally prepared otherwise he was a goner.

* * *

"What's happened now?" Alex asked once she saw Rose heading back towards the couches looking upset.

"Nothing" Rose said with a small smile trying to convince Alex she was okay.

"You sure?" Alex asked noticing Rose was hiding something, "Yup"

"Okay then, where's Artie?"

"He was just sorting something out at his desk"

"You get your animatic?"

"Yeah it's still in the box so we're gonna sort it out now"

"Well Artie's just come back" Alex replied noticing Artie storming towards the conference room, why did everybody look so moody all of a sudden?

"I better go"

"You gonna hang around for the table read?"

"Erm I don't think so" Rose said feeling a little sad and angry about what just happened with Seth. He was being so moody! What was with men lately?!

"Oh… okay then"

"I'm sorry Alex, it's just too awkward"

"Why what's happened?"

"Nothing trust me"

"Okay then, well I'll let you go"

"Okay I'll see you later then"

"Later" Alex replied as she watched Rose walk over to Artie and then into the conference room. Something had happened between them and she was definitely going to find out what!

* * *

"Oh man… this is… amazing" Rose said as she watched her student film on the big screen in the conference room. It was coloured and running smoothly and looked amazing! "I'm impressed" Artie said with a grin, "There doesn't seem to be any problems and it looks great!"

"I'm so happy with it! Thank you for everything you've done" Rose said pulling Artie into a hug.

He laughed and hugged her back but said, "There is another person you need to thank"

"Who?"

"Seth was the one who gave you permission to send it to Korea"

"Yes but did you see the mood he was in when you spoke to him?" Rose said with a frown,

"True" Artie replied and then frowned.

"What the hell was that about anyway?"

"I'm not sure Rose"

"Well if he's gonna act like that then there's no point talking to him"

"You've still gotta say thank you"

Rose sighed and said "I guess you're right"

"Well now we know it plays okay, you gonna send it out?"

"Yeah I guess I should"

"You don't sound sure"

"Oh I am don't worry, just nervous"

"It'll be alright and they'll love it" Rose smiled but then looked at the door when it suddenly flew open to reveal Danny.

"Oh there you are" he said with relief when he saw Rose.

"Ermmm… hey Danny" Rose said slightly confused, "You alright?"

"I am now that I've found you"

"Why?"

"We've had somebody drop out of the table read and we need somebody to cover her voice"

"And…"

"And I suggested you"

"Oh… I don't know"

"But Seth has already agreed to it!"

"What? He has?"

"Yes" Rose looked confused as she glanced at Artie who also looked confused. Seth was angry with Rose… yet still allowed her to be a part of the show… man he's confusing!

"Please say yes," Danny pleaded.

"Okay I'll do it"

"Yess!" Danny said happily making Rose smile.

"Is it a big part?"

"Not too big... but big enough for you to be speaking throughout most of the script"

Rose rolled her eyes and then smiled, "Alright then"

"Excellent! Anyway how's your student film?"

"It's awesome! It plays well and everything!"

"That's good news to hear, I'm happy for you"

"Thanks Danny"

"Well it looks like the table read is about to start so we need to get everybody seated and sorted" Rose nodded and then watched as two people came in with copies of the script and set them out around the table where everybody would be seated. She watched as Seth's script was placed at the far end of the table and then the microphones were put in the middle of the table so everybody would hear their voices.

Rose suddenly felt nervous at this point; she hadn't read a script out in front of a large crowd so it was quite intimidating to watch everything being set up.

"Rose you're over here next to me" Danny said pulling out a chair for Rose to sit on, but she felt like running for the hills when she realised she'd be sitting next to Seth. It would be Seth and David at the top of the table and then everybody else would sit wherever their names were on their script. All of their lines were highlighted so they would know where to read from and what characters they'd be doing.

"Who put me next to him?" Rose asked once she'd sat down and looked at her script sitting on the table in front of her.

"Guilty" came a voice beside Rose and she looked to see Alex with a devilish grin.

"You're dead" Rose murmured back getting Alex to giggle as she got herself comfortable in her chair. Everybody was filing into the room now and Rose felt the knot in her stomach get tighter, especially when Seth walked through the doors.

"Oh man" she whispered but got nudged by Alex who said "Just relax and you'll do fine"

"But what voice do I use?"

"Whichever one you feel like using, but you're reading the lines of a baby the same age as Stewie"

"So it's not babbling is it?"

"Nope she can speak properly just like Stewie, but she sounds intelligent"

"How do you know all this?"

"Because I came up with her character in the writer's room"

Rose smiled and then said "You knew all along that you wanted me to do her voice didn't you?"

"Guilty, again" Alex said with a giggle as Rose's eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise. Alex had been sneaking behind her back the whole time!

"You're so dead" Rose whispered making Alex laugh again, but they both quietened down when Seth sat down and cleared his throat to make the room fall silent so they could begin. Rose felt nervous but she also felt ready to do this, she felt like she belonged here and it was something she felt very privileged to be a part of.

* * *

"You really think that went okay?" Rose asked once the table read was over and people were starting to file out the room to get back to their own things. "Of course it was you were amazing!" Alex said as she put her script on the pile that was forming at the end of the table.

"You think so?"

"Yeah I also think you were amazing" Alec said with a smile.

"You guys" Rose said starting to blush getting them to laugh.

"You really nailed it, it was exactly how I wanted Julie to sound" Alex said referring to the characters name in the script. Rose had played the little girl who Stewie falls in love with when they're filming on Jolly Farm. It had been a laugh right from the start, with jokes at every turn and a wacky storyline to go with it. It had been an amazing 45 minutes and Rose wished it never ended. Even Seth seemed a lot more cheerful but he hadn't made eye contact with her once whilst they were at the table. He'd even rushed out the door as soon as the table read was completed!

"Still thinking about Seth?" Alex asked when she noticed Rose was daydreaming again.

"Just a little bit"

"Why don't you go talk to him then?"

"I would but he rushed off the minute the table read was over"

"Rose" Alec called by the door, "Seth is just by the snack counter"

"See there's your opportunity" Alex said with a reassuring smile making Rose sigh and say "Okay I'll do it"

"Good" Rose smiled slightly and then headed towards the doors to go and find Seth. "He's just right around the corner," Alec said pointing towards the snack bar where Seth was currently standing eating a cake. Rose exhaled loudly and then walked towards him slowly. He was on his own and seemed to be in his own thoughts, but looked up when Rose shuffled her feet and made a noise on the floor.

"Hey" she said softly to him hoping he wouldn't bite her head off and then storm off.

"Hey" Seth replied quietly.

"I just wanted to say… thank you"

"What for?"

"My student film looks amazing and I just wanted to say thank you, for letting me send it to Korea to be coloured"

"It's not a problem, and thank you for voicing that character, you were good" Rose felt a little hurt about that… just good? Well… good is better than horrible.

"Thanks and thank you… again for letting me do her voice" Seth smiled a little and then suddenly felt uncomfortable, should he bring everything up again? Or just forget it and keep it buried?

"I best get back to work" Seth said quietly as he fiddled with his coffee cup, "I'll see you round" then he walked off leaving Rose watching him as he walked away. "Bye" Rose said with sadness in her voice as she watched him smile and interact with everybody around the conference room. Seth had certainly proved to her today that he didn't want to make up or put things right, so now it was clear to Rose that it was best to just move on. She had her student film back and now it was the almighty task of sending it out to different companies worldwide.

That brought a smile to her face; maybe she could be famous one day and have her own TV series… that would certainly shut Seth up for good!

* * *

"Just do it just do it" Rose said to herself as she stood outside a mailbox to put her envelopes in. She'd spent the past 2 hours burning copies of her student film to send out to different companies. She'd made sure that every disk played properly before putting it in an envelope along with her letter explaining what it was and recommendations from the University that her professor had written for her. It was frustrating but now she'd got about 50 envelopes ready to be sent in the mail worldwide.

She'd even considered sending it to England and even Australia to the FOX studios located there! It would be a life changing moment if she got accepted for a job in a different country, and part of her was excited. So now she just needed to pop them in the mail and they'd be on their way tomorrow morning.

"Here goes" Rose said as she started to put them in the mailbox feeling the nerves washing away and the weight being lifted off her shoulders. She'd done it… she'd actually done it!

A grin spread across Rose's face when she'd finished putting them in the mailbox; she just hoped that they'd be all right. She'd bubble wrapped them in case they got damaged so hopefully all would be well. "Time to start anew Rose, and start thinking positively about the future" with that said, Rose grinned again as she headed back down the street towards her dorm room.


	15. Chapter 15

"They hated it didn't they? I bet you they hated it" Rose said as she paced the room, "Rose for the millionth time, it's only been a month calm down!" Danny said as he watched Rose pace the gag room for the hundredth time.

"But what if they hated it?"

"Rose didn't you say you'd sent it overseas?"

"Yeah why?"

"It takes weeks for things to travel overseas, especially with snail mail so calm down, you even said you'd send one to Australia so that will take a while!"

Rose ran a hand through her hair and looked at Danny, "You sure?"

"Yes absolutely, just calm down okay?"

"I'm sorry"

"It's alright, just relax and it'll be alright"

Rose sighed as she flopped herself down on one of the chairs and said "I'm sorry if I've annoyed you guys lately"

"Nahh you haven't" Alec said as he put his pen and paper down on the table and looked at Rose, "It's been fun seeing you freak out and get angry"

"It has?"

"Yeah it's better than seeing weepy depressed Rose, man that was getting old!" Alec laughed and then laughed harder when Rose threw her paper pad at him hard, "That's not nice!"

"But it's true, I'm glad you're happy again! It's been so much fun seeing you happy and having fun again"

"Yeah it has been fun" Rose replied with a smile. It had been a month since she'd sent off her student film and so far she hadn't heard a thing from any of the companies she'd sent it to. At first she panicked herself thinking she'd done everything wrong and that they'd hate it. But then she slowly managed to calm herself down and make herself happy again, she danced around her dorm singing loudly and having fun. She'd started painting pictures, drawing more pictures and keeping in touch with everybody at Family Guy. It had been the best month so far but the only downer was Seth.

Yes she was still upset about it as they hadn't spoken properly in weeks or even said hello to each other when they passed each other in the studios. But it was time to stop being weepy and depressed as it was getting old and annoying, so now she focused on making herself happy and putting her needs first. And so far she'd been successful with that and had managed to have some fun with the guys again.

"Yo… Rose!" John said throwing a balled up piece of paper at Rose to get her attention. "Hey what was that for!" Rose said laughing as she threw the ball of paper back at John who ducked so it hit Mike instead. "Don't drag me into this" Mike said through laughter as he also joined in with the paper fight that had broken out.

"I leave you alone for 10 minutes and you behave like this?!" Came a voice from the doorway and everybody looked to see Alex staring at them all, "Sorry mom" they all said together and laughed when Alex raised her eyebrows at them.

"I'll give you mom" Alex mumbled as she trod through the heap of paper balls that had accumulated in the room.

"Rose sweetie Seth needs you now" Alex said once she'd sat down on one of the empty chairs.

"He does?" Rose asked puzzled.

"Yeah remember you're voicing Julie today?"

"Oh yeah I forgot about that"

"Well you need to prepare yourself and get your butt to the booth"

"He's not in a mood is he?"

"Nope he's surprisingly mellow today so you should be fine" Rose nodded and then got up from her chair to brush off the paper balls that Danny had been flicking at her. Then she walked out of the room towards the recording booths not too far away. She saw Seth standing by the booth talking to Mila who noticed Rose and grinned.

"Hey stranger"

"Hey Mila" Rose said happily as she hugged Mila tightly who smiled and said, "Ready for your first session?"

"I think I am yeah"

"You ever done voice over work before?"

"Yeah I voiced my characters in my student film, but I used the equipment at the Uni for that. This looks completely different"

"Don't worry you'll love it, well that's if Mr MacFarlane over here doesn't start getting all bossy with you" Mila said loudly so Seth could hear.

He just smiled and said, "Thanks for that Mila, anyway Rose are you ready?"

"Yup ready as I'll ever be"

"Great, do you want me to show you how everything works?"

"Err yeah that'd be great" Mila elbowed Rose lightly who smirked and then followed Seth into the booth.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the equipment"

"Yeah I think i know my way around it" Rose replied.

"Good, now you just need to slip the headphones on so that you can hear me when I talk to you from the production booth"

"Okay"

"I'll just be giving you hints and advice about how the character should sound and if we're both happy with it then that'll be it"

"Right"

"Sound okay?"

"Perfectly okay"

"Good, your script is on the stand and the lines are highlighted so you can just read away"

"Okay then"

"You'll be fine" Seth said reassuringly before leaving the booth so he could go into the production booth. He closed the door with a click and Rose suddenly felt alone and nervous. Before slipping on the headphones she quickly tied her hair up in a messy bun and then got herself sorted. "You okay in there?" Came Seth's voice from the other booth startling Rose slightly. But she smiled when she heard Seth laughing, "Sorry did I startle you?"

"I wasn't ready!" Rose said before spitting her tongue out making Seth laugh again. That was a sound she thought she'd never hear again… Seth laughing! Well at least he'd spoken to her, even if it was professional talk he still spoke to her!

"Alright Rose you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be" Rose said making Seth smile and say "Okay then, start reading your first few lines"

* * *

"Okay that's a wrap" Came Seth's voice through the speakers making Rose smile and say "Wow that was pretty simple"

"It's easy isn't it?" Seth replied.

"Yeah I like doing that"

"You're a natural"

"Thanks" Rose said blushing slightly.

"I can even see you blushing from here" Seth said with a laugh making Rose roll her eyes and then smile goofily at him. "Ahh the usual goofy smile" Seth said with a smile as he noticed how happy Rose seemed to be lately. It was like everything was back to normal again; apart from Seth feeling like there was a giant hole in his chest where his heart used to be.

Maybe she'd moved on from him and was happy? He'd be crushed if that were true, but he wouldn't blame her, he hadn't exactly been friendly these past few weeks. Even he could admit that he'd been cold hearted and nasty but he couldn't explain why though. He loved Rose so why was he behaving like this?!

"Seth? Are we all done in here now?" Rose asked Seth but was quite puzzled that he'd trailed off and gone into thought. "So-sorry Rose, yes you're all done. I'll come let you out" Seth said making Rose smile slightly as she took off the headphones and sorted her hair out. She'd decided to leave it in the bun as she was too hot and it would irritate her. She smiled when she saw Seth at the door and she heard the click to open it,

"You lock the door?" Rose asked amazed as he pulled it open and let her step out.

"Yeah we have too"

"Why?"

"Just in case anybody tries to walk in and mess with everything"

"Ohh I get ya"

Seth smiled and said "Thank you for doing that voiceover work, your voice certainly matches that character"

"Has she been drawn yet?"

"Yeah they're working on her down in the animatic rooms" Rose stared at Seth innocently trying to hint that she wanted to go and see it. "Alright, alright I know that look," Seth said with a smile making Rose feel weak at the knees, his smile was still gorgeous!

"I can't wait to see her"

"She's a pretty lil thing" Seth replied as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Who drew her?"

"I don't think that's important," Seth said trying to hide his blush, as he was the one who drew Julie.

"Oh come on I wanna know" Rose said excitedly making Seth smile.

"I'll let you guess when we see her"

"Oh no fair!" Seth laughed as they turned down the corridor towards the animation rooms where the guys were drawing storyboards and new characters for the new episodes.

They eventually got to the room and Seth walked inside, "Hey guys" he said aloud to the room.

"Afternoon Seth" came a chorus of replies from everybody in the room.

"Wow it's like choir in here," Rose said with a smile getting Seth to laugh and nearly spit his coffee everywhere.

"Thanks for that Rose"

"Anytime" Rose replied with a smirk as she watched Seth mop himself up from dribbling coffee down his chin,

"Aww you're like a baby" Rose said in a baby voice getting Seth to glare at her playfully.

But then he smiled and said to the gang, "Is the Julie character in here?"

"Yes Seth I've just finished choosing the colours for her clothes and hair" one of the women said handing Seth a completed drawing of Julie the baby who Rose had voiced. "There ya go" Seth said handing Rose the paper so she could see the character. She was certainly beautiful and Seth was happy with how she'd turned out.

"Oh wow she's perfect" Rose said completely amazed with how well the character had been drawn. She looked just like Rose, and now she just had to figure out who drew it to begin with.

"You like her?" Seth asked with happiness in his voice as he noticed how impressed Rose was, he felt like a little kid at this point!

"Yes I love it" Rose replied with a grin.

"Good, want me to autograph it?"

"A few months ago I would have squealed in excitement about that but now because I know you properly as a friend I don't need you to autograph things, being around you in person is amazing enough" Seth smiled at Rose's words but said "I'm still gonna sign it for you"

"Stubborn ass" Seth laughed as he picked up one of the pens and started to write on the back of the paper:

_Rose,_

_You're one in a million and I thank my lucky stars I met you_

_All my love,_

_Seth MacFarlane_

"Dammit you've written it in your posh writing so I can't read it!" Rose whined getting Seth to laugh, he'd written something special on the paper but he was too afraid of what she'd say about it. But maybe she wouldn't be mad about it on the day she figured out what it said, that would certainly take a while!

"See it's all curled and I can't make out what it says" Rose continued whining making Seth laugh again.

"Well you better get used to writing out autographs"

"Why'd you say that?"

"Because you're gonna be famous soon with your student film"

"You sound so sure of yourself?" Rose said suspiciously as she noticed Seth's odd behaviour and weird comments, did he know something she didn't? "Anyway let's head back to the gang, I'm sure they're worried about you" Seth said with a small smile trying to avoid Rose's suspicious stares. He did know something she didn't but now wasn't the right time to say anything.

"Yeah okay then" Rose said dully as they headed back towards the gang, she didn't want to head back to them yet as she was having too much fun with Seth. They seemed a lot happier now and it was easy to talk to him without that feeling of doubt in the back of her mind.

"You don't sound so sure" Seth said noticing Rose not looking too happy.

"That's because I'm not"

"Mind if I ask why?"

"Because I-" Rose cut herself off as she was surprised at herself, she was about to tell him the truth about everything. That wouldn't go down too well as both of them had tried hard to not bring up the messy past and stay focused on the bright and happy future ahead of them.

"Because…" Seth said trying to encourage Rose to continue her sentence but she continued to stare wide eyed at him.

"Because I like spending time with-"

"Rose… we're all heading out to lunch now, wanna come?" Alec said once he'd found both Seth and Rose, not realising he'd just interrupted them. "Sorry guys, did I interrupt something?"

"Err no you didn't" Rose said not taking her eyes off Seth who was still looking back at Rose. Alec noticed this and found it very confusing but didn't say anything about it.

"Okay then, wanna come out for some lunch?"

"Okay then" Rose said with a bright smile but then said to Seth, "Wanna come?"

"Yeah sure, that's if Alec doesn't mind"

"I was hoping you'd say yes, and then you can pay the bill!" Alec replied and then laughed when Seth did.

"Won't you be so lucky" Seth replied with a grin making Alec laugh again.

"Everybody's waiting so we best get moving" Seth nodded and then followed Rose and Alec down the corridors to meet the gang so they could go out for some lunch.

* * *

"You seem to be much happier today Seth" Alex said to Seth as she poured herself a drink from Seth's stash in his office. They'd come back from dinner and everybody had, had a good time and were all happy and laughing. Rose had gone home as it was getting late and she needed to relax and unwind for a bit. Everybody wanted her to stay but she'd made up her mind and had gone home. This had upset Seth but he didn't let anybody know that, but he assumed Alex would already know. She could read Seth like a book and know what he was feeling before he did.

"I am much happier that's why" Seth replied with a smile as he sipped his Jack Daniels slowly and smiled again. "Mind if I ask why you're happy?" Alex said as she made herself comfortable on the couch closest to Seth's desk. Alex saw Seth drift off into thought and she knew he was thinking about Rose, he'd done nothing but grin and follow her round like a puppy dog all afternoon.

"Ahh don't tell me, I think I already know" Alex said with a grin.

"You do huh?" Seth said with a smile.

"It's obviously Rose"

"Damn how'd you guess?"

"It's not hard to tell" Seth smiled at that and leaned back in his chair and rested his hands on his stomach,

"She just means a lot to me that's all"

"I know you love her"

"I know I do"

"Then why the hell are you just sitting on your ass doing nothing about it then!" Alex sometimes got really angry with Seth; he wasn't exactly bright when it came to sorting out situations. Both he and Rose needed their heads bashing together, then they might see some sense!

"Jeez Alex calm down"

"Seth I can't calm down about this! It's been going on for months, stop toying with each other's feelings and just do something about it!"

"It's too complicated Alex"

"No it's not, get off your ass and go and make things right"

"But for all I know she could have moved on"

"Seth that girl has not moved on, I'm sorry for whining at you all the time but this isn't something you can brush under your carpet. You've been in love with this girl for months now yet you haven't done a damn thing about it" Seth sighed deeply and thought about everything that had happened. Both he and Rose had been through a lot yet their feelings never changed once. They were both still in love with each other so Seth wanted to do something about it.

"See I can see it now that you want to do something about it" Alex said with a smile noticing Seth was smiling whilst thinking.

"I do want to do something about it"

"Seth can I ask you something?"

"Always"

"What can you actually see with Rose?"

"How'd you mean?"

"Do you see a future with her and everything?"

"Yes I can"

"What can you see then?"

"I see marriage, I see children etc."

"You really wanna have a baby with her?"

"Yep" Alex put her hands to her mouth and felt the tears welling up, "My little Seth is all grown up"

Seth smiled and said "Don't get all emotional on me"

"You're gonna have to get used to crying if you want a baby" Seth smiled again and thought about that, Rose looked like a natural whenever she was around children. He remembered the time he looked after Charlotte and Jack in the park that warm summer's day, they'd had a lot of fun and Seth felt comfortable being around children. Rose had even got Jack to laugh for the first time and it was an amazing scene to watch, but that was before she crushed his heart into a million pieces. He didn't think his heart could take much more torture, if she turned him down one more time he'd rip his heart out to stop the pain it was causing him.

"You really think you could go through 9 months of pregnancy with Rose?"

"Yeah I really can see it all"

"With the labour and the birth and everything that goes with it?"

"Yeah it would be an amazing experience"

"I'm proud of you Seth" Alex said with a bright smile making Seth smile back. "You planning on proposing then?"

"I was thinking about it yeah"

"You've been thinking a lot lately haven't you?"

"Yep"

"What else have you been thinking about it?"

"Hiring Rose to the Family Guy cast"

"Are you serious?" Alex said excitedly.

"Yeah she's fit in well and it's like she belongs here"

"Oh man that's awesome! Please hire her"

"I was going to ask her about it today but then Alec interrupted when he asked us to go out to dinner with the gang"

"Wow bad timing"

"Tell me about it"

"Well there's nothing stopping you now is there? You can pick up the phone or toddle down to her dorm to speak to her" Seth smiled at her words and said "Well I would but we've got voices to record and I've got a table read with American Dad soon"

"Eugh damn your busy schedule!" Alex said throwing a stuffed Stewie doll at Seth who laughed and caught the doll and threw it back. He felt a lot happier now and now he knew what he wanted, he was definitely going to get it.

* * *

Rose was sat at home reading one of her favourite books; she'd shut out everything and just let her imagination run wild with every word she read on the page. She'd been reading now for the past hour and it had relaxed her. Although she'd had fun spending the day at the studios, she still needed time to unwind and let off some steam. So reading had certainly done the trick and now she felt happy and relaxed. But she was so relaxed and spaced out that she didn't hear her phone ringing until she felt the vibrations in her pocket. So she quickly dug it out of her pocket and answered it quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hello is this Rose Daniels?"

"Speaking"

"This is Brad Michaels from the BBC in London, I'm just calling you to talk about your student film you sent us entitled _"Sinful secret roomies"_"

"Oh" Rose said quite surprised.

"Me and a couple other producers have watched it and we think it's wonderful"

"You do?"

"Yes the humour you've portrayed is amazing and your animation is the best quality animation we've seen in years"

"Wow thank you so much that means a lot to me"

"You're very welcome; I'm also delighted to say that we'd love to offer you a job over here to create a whole season to air on BBC Three"

"Oh wow really?!" Rose said excitedly making Brad laugh down the phone.

"Absolutely Rose, we'd love to have you as part of our team"

"Yes, a thousand times yes!" Rose nearly squealed, she'd done it… she'd got a job… she was going to be famous!

"That's excellent news Rose"

"When do you want me to start?"

"Well we hate to rush you but we'd like you to start on Friday, but don't worry we've got accommodation for you and everything is sorted"

"Really? Wow that's incredible!"

"So is that okay?"

"Yes that's perfectly fine"

"Great, we've arranged your flight for Friday but I'm afraid it's a long flight"

"How long is it?"

"Nearly 11 hours"

"Wow"

"We do apologise for that"

"No it's alright, it'd be a fun adventure" Brad laughed and said "Everything is sorted but we still need to arrange for somebody to pick up your stuff to take it to England" Rose was quite surprised at all of this; she'd have to pack up and leave everybody behind to go and live in England. But then she thought about the positive side to this, she'd be creating her own TV show and be famous, this was everything she wanted!

"Err that would be fine, I don't have much stuff anyway, just my clothes etc because I live in a dorm it's owned by the University"

"That's perfectly fine, we'll do everything possible to help you and make you feel welcome"

"That's very sweet of you thank you"

"Anyway I'll let you go; we can't wait to meet you to discuss more details"

"I'm looking forward to it"

"Good, well I'll see you soon then!"

"Okay then and thank you so much for hiring me"

"You're very welcome, goodbye Rose"

"Goodbye Brad" Rose replied and then put her phone on the couch. She was silent for a moment taking everything in, but then she squealed out loud happily and then laughed. She'd just got hired to work for the BBC in London; she'd be living in London and living her dreams!

"Oh man I gotta call Artie!" Rose said picking her phone up again and finding Artie in her contact list, she soon found him and dialled his number.

"Hey Rose" Artie said cheerfully down the phone.

"Artie guess what!" Rose nearly squealed down the phone,

"You've lost the ability of sound control?" Artie asked with a hint of laughter making Rose laugh and say "I just got a call from the BBC in London offering me a job!"

"What?"

"Yeah they just rang me and offered me a job to make my own series of "_Sinful secret roomies"_ I'm so excited!"

"Oh wow Rose that's incredible! Congratulations!"

"It's so awesome I'm shaking with happiness"

"I'm proud of you Rose; your dream is coming true"

"But if it wasn't for yours and everybody else's encouragement I wouldn't have been able to do it"

"Hey it's alright, we're happy to help"

"You're all amazing"

"So when do you leave for jolly old England then?"

"On Friday"

"Seriously? But it's Tuesday now!"

"I know I was surprised as well but I'm still super excited!"

"Well if this is what you want Rose then we'll support you"

"Thank you"

"But you've gotta say goodbye properly and not just take off and forget us!"

"I promise I won't do that, I'd never be able to forget you lot"

"I'm glad"

"Anyway I better go, got lots of packing to do"

"Okay then I'll let you go, congratulations Rose… you deserve this"

"Thank you Artie"

"I'll speak to you later"

"Later Artie" then Rose ended the call and threw her phone back down on the couch. Everything had turned out great today, but she couldn't daydream as she had plenty of packing to do!

"What was all of that screaming about?" Alec said once Artie hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"It was Rose"

"She okay?" Seth asked worriedly.

"She's fine, just excited about something"

"What exactly? Especially to scream down the phone"

"One of the companies she'd sent her student film too rang her up and offered her a job"

"Are you serious?" Alex asked surprised.

"Yep"

"Which one?"

"The BBC in London"

"London?" Seth, Alex, Alec and Danny said together making Artie look at them with wide eyes. "Yes I did say London"

"But… but that's miles away!" Alex said quite upset, "Nearly 6000 miles away if I'm not mistaken"

"Yep"

"Did she accept the job?"

"Of course she did"

"Does that mean she has to move there?"

"Looks that way to me"

"Oh man" Alex said getting upset; she didn't want Rose to leave! Yes she was happy that she'd been offered a job, but to move to London was a HUGE step and a huge mistake!

"Guys we've just gotta be happy for her, yes it's a shock to the system but it's her choice and we can't hold her back from living her dreams" Artie said but frowned when everybody continued to stare at the table looking upset. The main person who was upset was Seth; as soon as Artie uttered those words he felt his heart rip in two for the third time in a few months.

Rose was leaving his life for good this time and he couldn't believe it. She was leaving America to head to the UK not realising she had just broken his heart again. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes but he had to fight his urges to stop them from falling. But when you've just heard that the girl you love is leaving the country forever you would feel crushed and heartbroken.

"Excuse me" Seth said softly before getting up from his chair and leaving the room quickly. Everybody watched him go feeling his pain deep inside.

Everybody was crushed and devastated about this, but nobody could compare to Seth's pain, he wouldn't ever be able to get over this.


	16. Chapter 16

The next few days flew by for Rose as she'd been up to her eyes packing all of her belongings up to head to England. She still couldn't believe she'd actually got a job to make her own cartoon show, it was amazing! But she'd surely been busy with everything else and sorting things out, she had to quit her job, and tell her professors at Uni that she'd got a job.

Of course they were extremely pleased about it, but were upset that she couldn't stay to finish Uni. But it was a sacrifice Rose was willing to make as she'd never get another job opportunity like this in a million years. Plus she didn't want to stay at Uni; it was boring her now, as it was the same thing over and over again.

Most of the other students hadn't even thought about making a student film and always handed their assignments in late and always got away with it. They couldn't be bothered and Rose certainly didn't want to be apart of it anymore so she made a strong decision and was sticking with it.

"This is a good thing," Rose said to herself as she finished taping her last box up. Everything was now packed and ready to ship out to England, the delivery guys were getting it tomorrow afternoon which did annoy Rose a lot as when she got to England she wouldn't have any possessions besides her clothes etc. She wanted everything to be there when she arrived but it just wasn't happening. So she had to leave everything piled up near the door and then give the key to the caretaker to let them in, in the morning. She just hoped everything would arrive safely and not damaged.

"Damage my stuff I'll damage you" Rose said loudly as she started putting some boxes near the door. She wouldn't be here much longer as she was spending her last day with the Family Guy crew. Her flight wasn't until 10pm so it gave her plenty of time to say goodbye to them before heading to the airport to start her new life. It did dawn on her that she was leaving everybody behind but it was probably for the best anyway. She needed to think about what she wanted for a change instead of being so focused on everybody else. So it was time to change and leave the past in the past. It would be emotional to say goodbye to everybody but she knew she'd eventually get over it and start having fun again.

"I'm sure I'll be forgotten soon enough" Rose said as she grabbed her keys off the side and headed out the door to go to the Family Studios for one last time.

* * *

"Yayy you came!" Alex said excitedly as she saw Rose walked through the main entrance doors to the FOX studios. She'd been waiting for her to come so she could spend precious time with her before she headed off to England. It had been an emotional few days for everybody especially Seth, he hadn't been right since Artie broke the news to them a few days ago. He hadn't eaten properly, laughed, smiled or even slept in days and he looked rough. He was quiet most of the time and just focused on working hard in his office. Alex had tried to comfort him but to no avail, he was just too heartbroken to speak to her.

"What did you think I'd just ignore you and take off without saying goodbye?" Rose asked as she pulled Alex into a hug.

"I'd personally come and find you in that airport if you did" Alex replied making Rose laugh.

"You're gonna be missed around here girl"

"I know, I'm gonna miss you guys too"

"Speaking of the guys, they're all upstairs waiting to spend the day with you"

"I can't wait"

"Well let's go then" Alex replied making Rose smile and link arms with her as they headed towards the elevators to go upstairs.

It didn't take long before Rose was surrounded by the guys giving her hugs and saying they'd miss her.

"Do you really have to go?" Danny asked with sadness in his voice making Rose sad too, "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity Danny, how many other job offers am I gonna get like this?"

"I just wish you could stay closer to us, or at least stay in the states and not travel overseas"

"I'll come visit you; every time that I've got some time off I'll be on the next flight to LA"

"Make sure you are" Danny replied and then pulled Rose into a tight hug.

She hugged back but then smiled and said, "So what are we doing today?"

"Well we arranged a Ping-Pong tournament for the morning, then we were gonna head out for some lunch and then it's back to the gag room for more jokes and fun"

"Sounds good, let's get started" Danny smiled and then led Rose by the hand towards the ping pong table so they could start their tournament.

* * *

"Oh come on your obviously cheating!" Alec whined when Rose scored another winning point against him. "How am I cheating? I have one hand on the table and the other is holding the paddle… what's the problem?" Rose replied smugly causing Alec to scowl at her.

"You're still cheating"

"Is this just because you're being beaten by a woman?"

"This isn't exactly the way I wanna be beaten by a woman"

"You're disgusting!" Rose replied as she knew Alec always turned everything sexual.

"I didn't mean it like that"

"Oh yeah of course you didn't" Alec just smirked but wanted to shout in frustration when Rose managed to score another point making her the winner of their match. It had been a good tournament and was nearly reaching the finals with only Alex, Rose, Danny and Artie left.

"Dammit you're cheating!" Alec said grumpily making Rose smile smugly and say, "You just don't like losing"

"Yeah whatever"

"Ooo getting stroppy now are we" Rose teased and laughed at Alec's glare of annoyance, "I don't think I'll miss you now"

"I won't miss you either" Alec looked shocked but then smirked and said, "You will miss me"

"No I won't" Rose replied.

"Oh yes you will"

"Erm… nope I won't"

"Fine"

"Fine" Rose smiled again but then saw Alec looking hurt and laughed, "Oh come on you know I'm kidding" Alec continued to look hurt so Rose pulled him into a hug and smiled. Alec smiled too but then thought of an idea to get Rose back for what she said.

"Feeling better now?" Rose asked once she felt Alec relax and hug her back. Alec just grinned and then started tickling Rose's ribs causing her to jerk back and then start squirming around laughing.

"Alec stop!" she squealed causing Alec to grin and continue his assault on her ribs. "Hey that looks fun," Artie said with a grin as he approached Rose with John and Danny behind him.

"Don't you dare!" Rose laughed out as she sank to her knees trying to escape Alec's grip but he was too strong. And when Artie joined in Rose completely lost it and started to laugh so hard she couldn't breathe.

"You guys suck!" she managed to squeak out and then laughed even more. "But you love us" Danny said with a laugh as he tickled Rose's legs which he knew she hated.

"I'm soooo not gonna miss you now!"

"Don't lie Rose you know you can't resist us" John said making Rose laugh so hard tears were streaming down her face. "You're messing up my make-up!"

"Ooo we can mess your hair up now too" Alec teased making Rose wriggle around trying to escape them but Danny held her still as they messed her hair up "Frizzy static hair!"

"Nooooo!" Rose whined through laughter as she tried to cover her hair up but this gave them easy access to her ribs so she was screwed either way. "I hate you all!" Rose squealed out through laughter but was thankful when she heard a familiar voice, "What the hell is going on here? Seriously you're like children!" Danny, Alec, Artie and John all looked up at Alex who had her hands on her hips with her eyebrows raised.

"Where's Rose?" she asked with suspicion making all 4 guys exchange looks.

"Erm… she's around" Danny said casually as he got up off the floor along with everybody else.

"She's on the floor isn't she?"

"Noo" all 4 guys said causing Alex to smirk,

"So you wouldn't mind if I walk over to you then"

"No don't!" Alec suddenly said

"Why?"

"Because erm… Danny just farted"

"I did not!" Danny replied

"It smells pretty bad you shouldn't come over," Alec said trying to hide his smirk as Rose was slowly getting up from behind the couch where they tickled her. "I'm used to you guys farting, hello I'm a writer in the writers room" Alex said as she stepped closer and then started laughing when she saw Rose rise up from the couch with messy hair and her make-up a mess.

"Rose… what happened?" Alex said through laughter as Rose tried to sort her hair out from the crazy static the guys had given her.

"Them" is all she said evilly as she pointed towards the guys looking too innocent.

"They rape you or something?"

"You wish" Danny said smugly causing Rose to glare at him as she rummaged around her bag looking for her brush. She found it and then quickly brushed her hair and put it up in a bun so it was out the way.

"What is it with women and brushing their hair?" Alec asked smirking.

"Well Alec… when some dumbass decides to mess your hair up… you have to brush it"

"Ouch… okay Rose" Alec replied and then smirked when Rose spat her tongue out at him. But jumped in surprise when she heard a voice that made her heart skip a beat, "What's been happening here?" Rose turned to see Seth standing there looking confused as he looked between all 4 guys and then Rose. But she remembered her make-up probably looked gross so she turned away from him to try and clean it up.

"Hey Seth, we were just having some fun" Artie said innocently but then smirked when he saw Rose frantically trying to clean herself up. "Rose… you alright?" Seth asked as he noticed Rose looking distressed and upset.

"Yeah I'm alright Seth" Rose replied quietly but started to feel awkward, "Just had a bit of a run in with the guys"

"What happened?"

"Oh as a goodbye gift they decided to tickle me until I cried and then mess my hair up… it worked" Rose replied making Seth smirk slightly and say, "I see"

"You should have joined in" Danny said, "Hearing Rose squeal like a baby is pretty funny"

"Wanna know how I can get you to squeal like a girl?" Rose asked with a smirk.

"How?" Danny replied, "Nothing you do will make me- ewww!" Danny then jumped back and squealed when Rose started to spray her deodorant all over him, "Rose that's gross!"

"Danny its only perfume" Alec replied with a laugh

"But its girls spray!"

"Oh thank you Danny, calling me a girl," Rose said with a smirk

"Oh come on it's not funny! It smells weird"

"Again thanks for the compliments" Rose replied causing Danny to glare at her, "Serves you right for giving me static hair"

"But this smells weird!"

"Have some more then!"

"No!" Danny replied as he jumped away from Rose who started to chase after him spraying him with more deodorant. The rest of the guys watched and started laughing, as it was always funny to see Rose chasing people round laughing. But the person who was struggling to smile was Seth, this was the last time he'd see this and it was breaking his heart. Soon she'd be on a plane flying out of his life forever and it was tearing him up inside.

"Seth are you alright?" Alex asked when she noticed Seth looking uneasy as he watched Rose run around the room. "No" is all Seth replied and then looked down at the floor.

"There's still time to make this right you know"

"What and ruin everything? Alex look how happy she is, she wants to go to London and I can't ruin her dreams"

"Seth if you love this girl you'll fight for her"

"I've tried fighting, but she's turned me down 2 times already. I can't risk having my heart broken again, she's killing me Alex"

"I know sweetie… I know" Alex replied as she rubbed her hand up and down Seth's back in comfort. But he did something, which startled her; he actually pulled her into a hug and tried to fight the urge to cry.

"I can't say goodbye Alex, it's too hard"

"Seth please don't cry"

"I won't I'm okay"

"Just go back to your office, it'll be alright"

"But I can't leave her without saying goodbye"

"I'm sure she knows how hard this is for you, hell it's gotta be killing her too" Seth just sighed and then looked at Alex and she could see just how tired and depressed he was.

"Seth why don't you go home?"

"I can't American Dad need me and I need to go and speak to the executives about something"

"What about?"

"I can't say"

"But you said you could tell me anything"

"I just gotta do this on my own okay?"

"Alright Seth, I'll catch you later yeah?"

"Okay then, I'll see you later"

"Later" Seth then left Alex and sighed again. He had to go and see the FOX executives to cancel the contract he drew up for Rose. He had drawn it up a few days ago before Rose broke the news she was leaving for London. He wanted her to work with him at Family Guy, she was perfect for the job and he knew she'd do well and go far. But she wanted to go her own way and he had to just leave it alone and let her get on with it.

Seth could see that Rose was finally putting herself first and focusing on her own future, which obviously didn't include him. She'd moved on and now he had to do the same thing. It would be hard but he'd have to do it, otherwise he wouldn't ever be happy.

"What's with the long face?" Danny asked Rose who looked tearful. "Nothing" Rose replied shaking her head slightly,

"Liar"

"I'm not lying"

"Then smile"

"I can't"

"Why?" Danny replied.

"It's just… Seth came over but then just left, it's clear to me he's not gonna say goodbye"

"That man is torn to shreds, he doesn't know what to think or do anymore"

"But-"

"He's just as hurt and confused as you, I know this is a big step for you to move to London and it's a spontaneous thing you did"

"I know-"

"I don't think you thought about the consequences and realised that you've got Seth in bits and hurt a lot of people" Rose was quiet for a while realising Danny was right, she'd taken the job in London without realising what she was leaving behind, maybe she wouldn't be forgotten after all. "I'm not trying to discourage you from leaving Rose as you've already said yes, but try and make things right with Seth before you go today, I know you'll regret it if you don't"

Rose sighed again and stared down at her shoes. "I don't know what to say to him"

"Tell him the truth, that you love him"

"That'll make things worse, I can't tell him I love him and then just leave, he'll be crushed"

"I don't think he can get much lower than this, he's torn to shreds"

"Stop guilt tripping me, I already know what I've done. I just need help on how to fix things"

"Go and speak to Seth then" Alex said suddenly causing Rose to stare at her, "It'll make both you and him feel better"

Rose sighed and then stood up, "Okay I'll do it"

"Good"

"Good luck" Danny replied as he watched Rose walk away to head to Seth's office.

* * *

Rose walked down the long winding corridors until she reached the room where Artie and Spencer were based outside Seth's office. It was pretty quiet apart from Spencer who was sitting at his desk talking on the phone. But he saw Rose looking lost and soon ended his phone call to talk to her, "Rose sweetie, you alright?" Rose continued to look blank and Spencer was quite confused, "Rose?"

"Yeah?" Rose eventually replied once she'd snapped out of her daze.

"You alright? You seem a little distracted"

"I'm okay, just wanted to see Seth about something"

"Oh okay, he's just in his office go right on in" Rose nodded but didn't shift from her spot causing Spencer to raise his eyebrows, "Rose what's wrong?"

"I just can't," She whispered back looking at the floor.

"Can't what?"

"I can't talk to him"

"Why not?"

"Because I just-" Rose trailed off and played with her hair nervously causing Spencer to get up from his desk and walk over to her.

He pulled her into a hug and said softly "He won't bite you know, he'll be thrilled to speak to you"

"I can't say goodbye," Rose mumbled back trying to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't say goodbye to Seth; it was too painful!

"Rose if you're so unsure, why don't you just stay here in the US and find a job here?"

"I have to go Spencer, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'll be living my dreams"

"But you just seem so unsure; I can see it in your eyes that you don't really want to leave"

"I do want to go… but-"

"But…?"

"Seth" Rose whispered feeling more tears welling up.

"See… you don't want to leave"

"I have to" Rose said a little more sternly causing Spencer to look at her.

"I'm not arguing with you Rose trust me, if this is what you want then I support you. Just please try and speak to Seth"

Rose sighed and said, "I'll try"

"Good" Spencer then gave her a little push towards Seth's office and smiled slightly. Rose just exhaled loudly and walked slowly towards his door, which was slightly ajar. She braced herself before knocking on the door but something was stopping her, why couldn't she knock on the door? She knew he was in there as she could smell his cologne and she could hear his voice. She stepped a little closer to the door and tried to listen to who he was talking to,

"So is that okay to meet you then Kelly?" he was obviously on the phone as he was silent for a while before speaking again. "8pm? Okay then I'll meet you then… yeah we could have some dinner to discuss it if you want… no no she hasn't got a clue this is happening" Rose felt a little upset about this, he was arranging to have dinner with another woman? He moved on from her that quickly? Well she couldn't really blame him, she'd turned him down twice and pushed him away, she didn't deserve him so it was better this way. So maybe saying goodbye was a bad idea after all.

"It was a complete surprise yeah, but there's nothing I can do to make it work, it's over and I've gotta face it" Rose had heard enough of this; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. So she backed away from the door and turned around,

"Rose what's the matter?" Spencer asked when he saw Rose looking teary eyed and upset.

"Nothing" she whispered back rubbing at her eyes to wipe the tears away.

"Why aren't you going in to Seth's office then?"

"He's on the phone; I don't want to bother him"

"Oh okay, well come back a little later and he should be free"

"I'll try to"

"Good"

"Anyway we were gonna head out for some lunch soon, you tagging along?"

"Yeah of course! Is everybody going?"

"I think so yeah"

"Awesome"

"I'll get Artie to come get you when we're going, or are you coming with me back to the gang?"

"Nah I've gotta stay here and watch the place, and also can you get Artie to come back? We've got some paperwork to get done"

"Yeah sure I'll go and get him now"

"Thanks Rose"

"No worries" Rose replied with a small smile but inside she was crying a river about what just happened with Seth. He was on the phone arranging a date with another woman? Great now he was over her she could get the hell out of there and start her new life in England!

"I'll see you a little later then" Rose said to Spencer with a small smile, he smiled back and said "Later Rose" Rose then walked back down the corridors towards the lounge area where the rest of the guys were hanging out.

* * *

"Hey how'd it go?" Alex asked when she saw Rose walking back down the corridor towards them. "It was alright" Rose lied, she couldn't tell Alex the truth as it would cause more trouble and she'd already caused enough since meeting them a few months back.

"Only alright?" Alex asked eyeing Rose suspiciously who nodded and said "Yeah"

"So did you say goodbye?"

"Yeah we talked and cleared the air"

"Good" Alex replied with a smile making Rose feel awful, but this was the only way to make things right. Seth was making plans with another woman and Rose didn't want to destroy his happiness again, she'd already done that too many times.

"Rose you looking forward to going out for lunch?" Alec asked with a smile making Rose smile back

"Yeah it should be fun"

"I hope you like it"

"It'll be fun with everybody there"

"Including Seth" Alex cut in making Rose stare at her wide eyed; he was coming out to lunch with them?! Oh man this wouldn't go down well at all!

"Seth's coming?" Danny asked surprised, "He told me he was busy with something later today" Rose breathed a small sigh of relief about that, but then she remembered his plans with that woman and scowled. "Oh yeah I forgot about that, but I'm sure he can rearrange his plans, especially to see Rose for one last time" Alex said making Rose flinch at those words. One last time he'd see her before she hopped on the plane to England, that did hurt deep inside.

"Well let's not waste time, let's continue the fun" Artie said but then Rose remembered Spencer needed him, "Artie I was asked by Spencer to tell you that you've still got some paperwork to get done"

"Oh crap I forgot about that! It really needs to be done by today!"

"Well if you hurry up now then you'll get it done" Alex said with her hands on her hips making Artie smile but then quickly head down the corridor back to his office. "So what's happening now?" Rose asked the guys who smiled at her, "We planned something in the conference room," Alec said with a small smile.

"What did you plan?"

"Well you know how you said you loved the old Atari and Nintendo's?"

"Yeah I love them"

"Exactly! So we decided to set up all of them in the conference room!"

"Oh wow really?!" Rose said excitedly making everybody smile as they guided her into the conference room where they'd set up all of the games consoles. "It looks awesome!" Rose squealed as she jumped up and down making Alex laugh hard.

"You look like a 10 year old!"

"I'm happy that's why!" Rose replied with a laugh.

"Enough talk let's get started!" Danny said racing Rose to the other end of the room towards the remote controls. Everybody else filed into the room with smiles and laughter as they began a games console marathon making Rose forget about her troubles for a few hours.

* * *

Seth was currently sitting in his office trying to get through to Kelly on the phone. She was one of the executives who watched over Family Guy and monitored their jokes to see if they could pass without getting them in trouble. She was also the one who helped Seth draw up the contract he was going to surprise Rose with to work with him. At first it was all going to plan, but then she got offered the job in England and it ruined everything. So now he had to meet up with Kelly to explain the situation and tear up the contract. But part of him didn't want to do that, as he felt that maybe Rose would change her mind one day.

But the other part of him knew he needed to do this in order to move on. He could certainly see his future with Rose but her moving to England changed everything. She wouldn't be around anymore so a long distance relationship was the only option, but that wouldn't feel right. He wouldn't be able to sleep next to her every night, whisper sweet things into her ear, make love to her or see her gorgeous face every day. Without those things there wasn't much point in a relationship, especially if she was 6000 miles away!

"Finally" Seth said to himself as he balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, he finally through and now it was ringing.

"Hello"

"Hey Kelly its Seth"

"Seth! Lovely to hear from you again"

"I just wanted to call in about the contract we drew up a few weeks ago"

"Oh… is there a problem with it?"

"Not a problem with the contract as such… it's just gotta be torn up"

"Why?"

"The person I drew it up for is moving away and so there's not gonna be any point"

"Oh I see"

"So I was just telling you"

"Wow you sound really torn up about this"

"I am… I certainly am"

"It was for a Rose Daniels wasn't it?"

"It was indeed"

"Well we can tear it up if you want"

"It needs to be in case it gets into the wrong hands"

"Right I understand"

"So is that okay to meet you then Kelly?"

"Yes of course it is, shall we say 8pm? Then we can go out and have some dinner to discuss it in more detail" Seth thought about that for a while, but got distracted when he thought he heard movement outside his office.

But he shrugged it off and said "8pm? Okay I'll meet you then; yeah we could have some dinner to discuss it if you want"

"Great! Has Rose got any idea you drew this contract up?"

"No no she hasn't got a clue this is happening"

"Was this contract a surprise for her?"

"It was a complete surprise yeah, but there's nothing I can do to make it work, it's over and I've gotta face it"

"I'm sorry you feel that way Seth"

"It's alright"

"Maybe having this dinner will be a break for you, to have some fun and smile"

"I'll try Kelly"

"Anyway I better shoot, got lots of paperwork to do"

"Yeah me too thinking about it"

"I'll see you later then"

"Yeah see you later"

"Bye Seth"

"Bye Kelly" Seth hung up the phone and threw it back down onto his desk and then sighed deeply. He just decided to have dinner with another woman? Man that wasn't like him at all! But maybe it was a sign of moving on from Rose, he'd done everything he could think of to try and make her his but she didn't ever show any interest. And he couldn't take much more heartbreak; he just wanted a little happiness!

"I'm bored now," Seth mumbled to himself as he looked around his office, it seemed boring without having everybody around making jokes and laughing. He was lost without them so he was going to find them… even if that meant being near Rose. Yes it would kill him inside but at least he'd get to see her and hear her sweet laughter before she headed off to England to start her new life.

He could handle that… right?

* * *

"You're such a nerd," Danny grumbled as he watched Rose playing on Mario, she knew everything about it, every cheat, every code and every hiding place. She'd scored tons of points and got loads of lives left, yet Danny was struggling badly. "I've played this since I was 5" Rose replied smugly as she'd almost completed another level. But Danny continued to scowl but then thought of an idea, so he quickly reached over to Rose to try and snatch her remote off her. Rose started laughing as she was desperately trying to control Mario on the screen, but Danny got in the way and he fell down a hole and died, causing Danny to play as Luigi next.

"That so wasn't fair!" Rose said through laughter, as she got up from chair to plug her remote back in. "I didn't do anything" Danny replied innocently causing Rose to raise her eyebrows at him. But then she thought of an idea to get him back, so she slowly reached over to the console and unplugged Danny's remote gently whilst he was talking to John. But Alex had seen what she was doing and started laughing making Rose smirk and try not to giggle herself.

"Alright Rose let me show you how it's done" Danny said smugly to Rose who smirked again and said "Okay then Mr big shot, show me how it's done"

Danny laughed but then realised Luigi couldn't move on the screen, "Wait… why can't I move?!"

"I dunno, maybe you knocked the console when you made me die" Rose replied with a smirk.

"Oh come on this isn't funny, one of the duck things is coming and I can't jump over it!" Danny whined causing Alex to start laughing as he was desperately trying to make Luigi move but nothing was happening.

"Maybe this is why" Rose said as she waved his remote wire in the air, "Oh look… the duck thing got you, bye bye Luigi" Rose teased making Danny scowl at her and then blow raspberries making her laugh.

"That was mean!"

"What you did to me was mean too!" Rose argued back but laughed when she saw Alex laughing at them both. "I think we've missed our dinner reservations" Mila said checking her watch noticing it was reaching 6pm.

"Oh crap" Alex said but then smiled, "Well we'll make it a late dinner then, you've still got time haven't you Rose?"

"Yeah I've got time, my flight isn't until 10pm so I've got time" Rose replied with a smile making everybody else smile too. "Well let's head on out then, I'm starved!" Mila said getting up from her chair making the others follow her. But as they all got up, the door opened and in came Seth making Rose feel weak at the knees so she held onto the table.

"Hey guys" Seth said softly smiling at everybody in the room,

"Hey Seth" Alex said cheerfully, "We were just heading out to a late dinner, wanna come?"

"Ahh… I would but… I've got some plans" Seth replied feeling awkward about it, he didn't look at Rose, as he felt too ashamed about going out with another woman. "Oh well that sucks" Alex said as she studied Seth for a minute, was he lying just to keep away from Rose? Or did he actually have other plans?

"I'm sorry if you needed me guys, I feel awful but I've got something I've gotta take care of" Seth said feeling awful now, especially when he caught eyes with Rose who looked hurt.

"It's alright Seth" Artie said "If you've got plans we can't be mad at you"

Seth smiled a little and said "Well I'll let you go then, I know how bitchy Mila can get when it comes to food"

"Hey!" Mila said as she glared at Seth, "You wait MacFarlane, I'll get you back" Seth just grinned at her as she glared at him, but she soon smiled and then looked at Rose, "Food!" is all she said before grabbing Rose by the hand and leading her out of the room making the rest of the guys laugh, including Seth.

"Wow you're laughing" Alex said quite surprised as she hadn't seen Seth in days.

"I know, even I'm surprised"

"It's a shame you can't come out with us"

"I wish I could but I've gotta sort something out"

"I hate you hiding things from me"

"I'll tell you when it's over" Seth replied making Alex eye him suspiciously one more time before saying "Okay then, well I better shoot, I'll catch you later maybe?"

"Maybe"

"Or I'll see you tomorrow"

"It'll probably be tomorrow"

"Okay then, see you later"

"Have a good evening Alex" Seth replied as he watched Alex head over to the rest of the gang to head out for a late dinner. But the thing that surprised him was the long lingering look Rose gave him before walking into the elevator with Mila. Her face was filled with pain and hurt, but what did that mean? She was confusing him a lot these days, what did she want?!

"Women" Seth mumbled to himself as he headed back down the corridor towards his office. He felt a bit lonely now without the guys around, but he remembered his meeting with Kelly and needed to get himself ready for that. As painful as this evening would be, he thought it was best to try and at least act happy otherwise the paparazzi would jump on the band wagon and he'd definitely be a goner. But thoughts of Rose filled his mind and he realised that she'd only be in LA for 4 more hours before her flight to London was called.

That hurt him a lot so he couldn't smile, "Oh man I'm living in hell" Seth said to himself before closing his office door to be left alone until his meeting with Kelly.


	17. Chapter 17

"Oh man I can't believe this is it" Alex said tearfully as she stood in front of Rose who looked tearful herself. "I know" Rose replied as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Man this is harder than I thought" Danny said getting a lot of the others to nod in agreement.

"Be sure to remember us" Mila said tearfully making Rose say "I won't ever forget you guys, I love all of you"

"Including…" Alex said making Rose look at her and say, "Yes" Alex just looked at Rose and then pulled her into a tight hug.

"There's still time"

"I can't Alex" Rose whispered feeling more tears forming.

"What's he gotta do to prove his love Rose?" Mila asked as she'd been filled in on the rocky relationship with Seth and Rose, "The man is head over heels for you yet you push him away"

"It's complicated Mila" Alex replied as Rose was too upset to speak. Rose wiped her eyes and thought about everything to do with Seth. She loved him with all of her heart but she had to go to London to chase her dreams. But the thought of Seth chasing her through the airport made her heart skip a beat; that would be so romantic!

"What is so complicated? Boy meets girl, they fall in love and should be together!"

"Mila please don't do this" Rose said through tears making Mila look at her and start crying herself.

"I'm sorry Rose, I shouldn't have shouted at you, but this is a complete mess and you shouldn't leave it on bad terms"

"It isn't on bad terms, we sorted some things out" Rose lied but she knew it was for the best as this situation wouldn't ever go away.

"Rose remember the time," Alex said as she looked at her watch seeing it was almost 8pm and Rose's flight was at 10pm.

"Right yeah the time" Rose mumbled as she let go of Mila and wiped her eyes one more time, "I promise I'll keep in touch with you all"

"You better" Artie replied as he hugged Rose tightly.

"Otherwise we'll come after you" Alec said as he also hugged Rose. Everybody was saying heartfelt things making Rose cry even more as she hugged everybody before it was only Alex left. "Rose come here" Alex said as she held out her hand for Rose to take which she did and then followed Alex down the corridor. She led her towards the couches and pulled Rose down so they were both sitting comfortably.

"Alex-" Rose started to say but Alex cut her off, "Rose before you say anything I just want to get a few things off my chest"

"Okay" Rose replied hesitantly as she didn't like where this was going.

"I just wanted to say that I was completely mad at you for what you did to Seth but now after everything that has happened I'm slowly getting over it, although I still find it stupid that you two never even tried to date or anything"

"You know how complicated it was Alex"

"I know Rose which is why I said I'm getting over it, I'm not sure how long it'll take Seth to recover but I'll keep my eye on him"

"I'm so sorry it had to end like this"

"Rose what's done is done okay? I understand why you took this job in England. I speak for everybody here when I say we hated the idea of you leaving us, but now we can see that we're being selfish and not thinking about your happiness. If this is what you want then we'll support you and keep in touch everyday if that's what it takes, reverse the phone charges I don't care… just as long as you keep in touch with us"

"I promise I will" Rose replied with a small smile but then looked around the room and sighed, "I'm gonna miss this place, so many memories here"

"I know… it's been incredible. It was obviously fate meeting you, look how much you've changed and how far you've come! The first time I saw you I couldn't believe how smart you were… or why you had Harriet as your best friend!"

Rose laughed slightly at that and said "I can't believe I had her as a friend either"

"She was worthless Rose, I'm glad you finally saw that"

"Yeah but look what it did to me"

"Hey… you're still alive remember? Yeah it was a foolish and stupid thing to do but at least you're still here, living each day with happiness now and you put that bitch behind you and took a giant step forward" Rose smiled again but still couldn't shake off the sadness whenever she looked around the room, the gag room, the recording booth and the table tennis area all brought back too many memories. From laughter to tears, to fighting to love it had certainly been an emotional ride. And now it was just an old memory that had to stay in the past.

"I love you Rose, you're like the sister I never had and I'll always remember the good times we had and the arguments" Rose smiled a little as she dabbed at her eyes again. "I love you too Alex, thank you for everything. You've taught me a lot of stuff and shown me the way forward. I owe everything to you and I'll never ever forget you" Alex smiled widely then and pulled Rose into a hug.

"I can't keep you any longer, it's getting late and you'll miss your flight" Alex said making Rose sigh and say "I better go then, need to hail a cab to my dorm to pick up my luggage to then head to the airport"

"No worries we can get transport for you"

"I couldn't ask you to do-"

"Rose it's alright… everybody will come see you off anyway"

Rose sighed in defeat and said "So stubborn"

"But you love me for it" Alex replied with a smile as she got up from the couch and then helped Rose to her feet. "This is really it" Rose whispered as she looked at the time and saw it was reaching 8pm and now she really needed to get the show on the road otherwise she'd miss her flight.

"Rose you look so panicked… are you sure this is what you want?" Alex asked as she saw Rose looking uncertain and confused. Alex was quite surprised when Rose looked at her showing pure signs of regret and uncertainty, would she say she didn't wanna go anymore? She could only hope!

"Yes Alex… I want this" Rose replied weakly as she walked towards the rest of the gang who were talking amongst themselves. But they stopped when they saw Rose heading towards them looking lost and scared. "Rose are you alright?" Artie asked noticing how pale Rose looked in the light.

"I'm alright… just nervous" Rose replied as she held her stomach which was filled with so many butterflies she felt sick.

"Transport should be here in a few minutes… might as well wait downstairs for it" Alex replied as she came back over to the gang after calling for transport at the reception desk. Everybody followed Rose to the elevators to take them downstairs to wait for the transport to take her to her dorm room one last time. "Bye Seth" Rose whispered to herself as she wiped tears away from her eyes, "I'll always love you"

* * *

"Drawing is boring; writing is boring, what's wrong with me?" Seth asked himself as he sat himself down behind his desk and sighed. He'd just got back from the American Dad studios after doing a table read and now he felt lousy. Of course he'd laughed and smiled throughout the table read but behind that smile was pain and sadness. So many things had happened in such a short period of time it had completely threw him out of his normal routine. He'd normally come into work and keep his head down and stay in his office. Sometimes he'd draw with the storyboard artists, other days he'd be recording, some days editing etc. He'd never really pay much interest in women, as he didn't have the time to date or waste time. But since meeting

Rose he'd changed and now he loved being around everybody. Rose had got under his skin in so many ways it was impossible for him to keep away from her. He had to be around her to see what she was doing and try and make her laugh if she felt miserable. She'd changed a hell of a lot of things around this place; normally everybody would keep their distance from each other and just get on with their work. But Rose changed all of that, now everybody greeted each other in the corridors and treated each other with respect. It was a friendly and happy environment to be in and Seth was grateful of everything Rose had done in the short space of time he'd known her.

It had only been a few months and Seth couldn't quite believe how much he loved her and cherished her as a friend, being famous had certainly taken its toll on his trust in women. He had to sniff out the gold diggers quickly and then when he found a real genuine woman it always took him months, maybe years for him to trust her. But with Rose it was different, she came into his life and it was like she was his best friend. They clicked instantly and had everything in common, she wasn't like every other woman out there, she was real, kind, caring and tried to give everybody what they wanted. She put everybody else before her and did everything to make them happy.

Seth had never ever met a woman like Rose before, nobody could ever compare to her… ever.

"Better start getting your shit together Seth" Seth said to himself as he got up from his chair and walked over to the window. He stared up at the night sky and sighed, he remembered bringing Rose in here one time and showing her the stars. There weren't many streetlights outside around this area so it made the sky much clearer and the stars seem much brighter. Rose had loved it and made Seth laugh as she was behaving like a small-excited child. It was the happiest he'd been in years as Rose always brought out the childish side of him and made him forget about his troubles.

But now with Rose going to England he'd never see her so he had to get on with his everyday life again. This made Seth sigh deeply as he checked his watch and saw it was heading up to 8pm and he needed to meet Kelly. So he dragged himself back inside his office, closed the balcony doors and started to make himself look presentable for his meeting with Kelly.

* * *

"I really can't believe she went" Danny said miserably as he picked at one of the couch cushions he was holding. "I know… I can't either" Alec said as he slumped himself down further on the couch.

"Wow she's really got to you guys," Mila said as she repositioned herself on the other couch to get comfortable. They'd just got back upstairs from watching Rose head off to the airport and it had certainly been emotional.

"Are you saying it didn't upset you too?" Alec replied.

"No I'm not saying that, you saw me I was crying a river! I'm just surprised at how much it's bothered you guys"

"Well she meant a lot to us Mila, it was like we'd known her for years not months" Danny replied

"Yeah it was like she was just another guy working with us, she knew how to make us laugh without trying and did so many funny impressions" Artie replied with a small smile.

"Remember that time she made us dance like fools to the The Macarena?" John said with a smile, "If I remember correctly Alec you aced it"

"I just learn dance moves easily…" Alec replied innocently making the other guys laugh.

"Man she was really something wasn't she?" Danny said with a smile making the others murmur in agreement.

"Again I just can't believe she went" Spencer said sadly.

"I know… it just sucks" Artie replied.

"Remember what we agreed guys" Alex said "We're supposed to be happy for her"

"How can we be Alex?" Artie replied "She's just made the biggest mistake of her life by moving to England"

"I wouldn't say it was a _big _mistake"

"But it is! You saw the way she looked, she's scared to death! And if I know Rose like I think I do, she'd have wanted us to stop her and try to convince her to stay!"

"You reckon so?"

"I know so Alex, she looked scared to death. This isn't what she wants at all; she only took this job because it was the first one she got offered"

"I guess you're right about that" Alex replied glumly.

"Plus I bet you my next wage packet that she moved to England to escape Seth"

"You seem so sure on these things Artie"

"That's because I dated her remember? She told me a lot of things and I know what she's like. She's running away from her troubles as she's too scared to solve them"

"But she said she'd settled her differences with Seth…"

"She was lying" Artie said making Alex frown.

"She lied to me?"

"Why what did she say?"

"She told me that she'd spoken to Seth and settled their differences"

"When?"

"Earlier today when she went to his office"

"I saw her when she went to his office, she didn't go in" Spencer added in making Alex turn to face him.

"Well what did she do then?"

"She stood outside his office listening for a while, then she backed away with tears in her eyes" Alex looked completely confused about that. Why had Rose lied to her? Why didn't she go and speak to Seth like she'd promised too?

Maybe Artie was right… Rose was running away from her problems!

* * *

"I think I've got everything I need now" Rose said to herself as she rushed around her dorm room making sure she'd got everything. Everything was packed up by the front door but Rose always forgot something and it was always something important. But as she looked around the room she couldn't see anything. The draws were empty and everything was ready to go. So Rose grabbed her bags and headed out the door towards the car that was still waiting for her.

Alex had been kind enough to order her some transport to take her to whenever she wanted to go. The driver said he'd wait for her however long she'd be but Rose wanted to be quick and efficient and head to the airport quickly to check in and be ready. "Are you ready Rose?" Daniel asked Rose when he saw her come out of the building towards him. They'd introduced themselves in the car and both felt comfortable to talk like real friends.

"Yes I'm ready Dan"

"You sure you've got everything? You told me to remind you"

Rose smiled and said "Yep everything is packed, my key is with the caretaker so he can let the guys in tomorrow to collect the rest of my things"

"Right let's head off then" Rose nodded and then slowly made her way towards the car to get inside. But something deep inside of Rose was telling her not to get in the car to head to the airport. She'd been experiencing stomach cramps for the past few hours and she only got them when something was wrong. Whenever her heart was trying to tell her something, her mind always blocked it out and told her something else.

"Rose you alright?" Daniel asked noticing Rose looked hesitant to get into the car and that she'd gone very pale. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm alright" Rose replied shakily as she opened the car door and got in slowly. But when she slammed the door shut her stomach lurched again causing more cramps. Why was her stomach doing this to her now? She wanted to go to England… she had too!

"Just breathe deeply, just breathe" Rose whispered to herself as she watched Daniel start the engine and then slowly pull away from the curb to head to the airport. It was actually happening now… she was going to England and she should be happy. But she was finding it a little difficult, as the stomach cramps were getting worse.

Why was this happening? Going to England was supposed to be a new start to forget her problems and be happy again, so why did it feel like her stomach was gonna fall out of her butt?

* * *

Alex was making her way down the corridors towards Seth's office. She knew he'd be in there as nobody had seen him since Rose left and that was where he always hid away. At first she had every intention of going in there and shouting at him, but then she realised that wouldn't solve anything so she calmed herself down. She was just gonna ask him a few questions and then bring up the truth later.

There were still many things unsolved and Alex wanted to get to the bottom of it all. She was tired of all the lies and tears. Seth loved Rose and she loved him, so Alex was going to sort this once and for all. So she marched down the corridor until she reached Seth's office and then knocked on the door.

"Come in" Came Seth's reply making Alex open the door and step inside. "Hey Alex" Seth said with a small weak smile as he watched her walk into the room. "Hey" Alex replied softly as she shut the door and then walked over to his desk.

"Everything okay?" Seth asked noticing Alex looked a little lost and confused.

"Yeah I'm alright" Alex replied quietly as she stared down at Seth's desk noticing a strange drawing. It was different coloured scribbles with the words "To Seff" written on it.

"What's this?" Alex asked as she held up the paper to Seth who smiled a little and said "I saw Rose in the park one day and she was babysitting her friend's children and the little girl drew me a picture"

"You were around children?"

"Yeah"

"How old were they?"

"The little girl Charlotte was 2 and Jack was only a few months old"

"You were comfortable around babies?"

"Yeah they were well behaved and fun" Alex smiled a little and then looked back down at the picture.

"This must mean a lot to you"

"It does yeah" Seth replied with a smile as he looked at the picture. He remembered both times he'd seen Rose in the park playing with the children, but the one memory that stood out was when she made Jack laugh for the first time. It was a beautiful sight to see Rose with a baby especially when making them laugh!

"Why exactly are you called Seff?" Alex asked with a small smile.

"Charlotte couldn't say Seth so Seff was easier to say"

"Oh I get ya"

"It was an amazing day"

"Yeah I bet it was" Alex smiled again and then put the piece of paper down and then noticed another one. It was clearly visible as it had the FOX logo on top of it. It amazed Alex as it had Rose's name in the centre of the paper followed by some small print and then Seth's signature at the bottom.

"Seth?"

"Hmm?"

"What's this?"

"What's what?"

"This" Alex replied holding up the contract making Seth's eyes widen in surprise. Nobody was supposed to see it!

"It's err… nothing" Seth said trying to snatch the paper off Alex but she pulled away and said "Seth don't lie to me"

"But it's nothing"

"It's a contract for Rose! Don't lie to me!"

"Alex nobody was supposed to find out about it okay! It was a surprise for her but since she's moved to England there's no point keeping it anymore!"

"How long have you had this?"

"Quite a while now"

"So why didn't you give it to her? You could have stopped all of this from happening!"

"I was going too but things just kept getting in the way, she broke my heart 3 times Alex so it was a little bit harder for me to talk to her"

Alex sighed deeply and said "So what are you doing with it now?"

"I'm meeting with Kelly to tear it up"

"Why do you have to meet with her?"

"To explain the situation and then tear it up"

"Couldn't you just go upstairs and meet her?"

"She asked to meet up for a late dinner" Seth replied making Alex narrow her eyes slightly. He was meeting up with another woman now? And it just had to be Kelly didn't it?! The woman who's been chasing after Seth ever since she met him and now she finally got him.

But then Alex thought of something else too, "How did you arrange this?"

"On the phone why?" Seth replied making Alex finally start to understand, it was all coming together now.

That's why Rose lied!

"When did you speak to her?"

"What is this? 20 questions?"

"Just answer the question Seth"

"About 6ish why?"

"It all makes sense now"

"What does?"

"It totally makes sense"

"Alex… gonna have to fill me in here"

"I sent Rose to speak to you about 6ish"

"You did?"

"Yeah"

"Well I never saw her"

"Exactly! You were obviously on the phone to Kelly at that time and Rose must have heard!"

"Come to think of it… I did hear movement outside my office"

"She must have overheard something to make her cry"

"She cried?"

"Yeah Spencer said she backed away from your door and was crying"

"Oh man she must have thought I was arranging a date or something"

"Well you kinda were"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't give me that crap Seth; you know how much Kelly likes you! And you arranging to have dinner with her was the icing on the cake!" Seth was about to respond but couldn't think of anything to say. Alex was right about that… Kelly had been trying to get him for years and now he'd just walked straight into her trap. He could have easily torn the contract up but Kelly insisted on some dinner.

Now he felt stupid.

"I feel dumb now… I can't believe I walked straight into that," Seth said as he sunk down onto the couch and rubbed a hand through his hair.

Alex sighed too and said, "I know it was a foolish thing to do Seth but you can easily fix it"

"How?"

"By getting your butt off the couch and going after Rose"

"Beg pardon?"

"Go and chase her down in that airport and bring her back home where she belongs!"

"Okay rewind a bit Alex… how did we get here?"

"Rose is only going to England to get away from you"

"She is?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because she's head over heels in love with you but she's too afraid to admit her feelings, and hearing you on the phone with another woman has probably tipped her over the edge to run away!"

"She still loves me?"

"Yes she never stopped!"

"Then why the hell has she been playing all of these games with me?!"

"Seth I don't think she realised she was playing games, she's never been in love before and I'm sure she had no intentions of stringing you along or using you. She's confused about how she feels because you haven't exactly been prince charming. You've been playing games too you know" Seth listened to Alex and then sighed as she was right… again.

Both he and Rose had been playing games with each other and had confused each other so now neither knew what was going on. But Seth was tired of games now; he wanted Rose so why the hell had he been sitting on his ass all day! Why had he let her go to the airport to fly 6000 miles away from him!

Seth suddenly bolted up from the couch making Alex jump back slightly, "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to the airport"

"What?"

"I'm getting my Rose back whether she likes it or not" Alex grinned at Seth and then pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you!"

"What's the time?"

"8:20pm so you've got time"

"When's her flight?"

"10pm so go now before she checks in and you can't get her" Seth nodded and then grabbed his jacket before kissing Alex on the cheek and saying "Thank you Alex"

"No worries now go!" Seth nodded and then quickly headed out the door to head to the airport to find Rose.

He had to get her back and admit his love for her… but would he make it in time?


	18. Chapter 18

"You sure you've got everything? Passport, ticket, keys etc?"

"Yes I'm sure Dan" Rose replied with a weak smile as both of them stood outside the airport. Daniel had dropped her off and had unloaded her bags from the car, now she just had to wait around until her flight was called. Rose had hoped the car ride would have settled her stomach a bit, but it didn't and now the cramps had got worse. What was wrong with her?

She wanted this… she needed to do this in order to be happy!

"Rose you're looking so pale, are you alright?" Daniel asked noticing Rose was getting paler by the second.

"I'm alright, just a bit nervous about flying" Rose lied as she scrunched her face up when more cramps tore through her stomach.

"You want me to walk you inside to check in?"

"No honestly I'll be alright, you get back to work as you've probably got a lot to do"

"Well I've only got one job left and that's to ferry Seth around for the night" Rose's stomach got worse at the sound of Seth's name and Daniel noticed this, "Everything okay? You squirmed when I mentioned Seth"

"I'm alright… just a little queasy" Rose squeaked back as she held onto her suitcase for support. Daniel eyed her suspiciously for a while before saying,

"Just as long as you're okay"

"I'm fine honestly"

"Okay then well I'm gonna shoot now but I hope all goes well with you in England"

"Thank you"

"I hope you come back to visit soon"

"Oh don't worry I'll come and visit every chance I get" Rose replied making Daniel smile as he pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you soon then"

"Absolutely" Rose replied as she stood back from Daniel and then got her suitcase and bags together.

"Bye Rose"

"Bye Daniel" Rose replied as she watched him get back into the car to drive back to the Family Guy studios. Now he had to ferry Seth around for the night, probably with his new bimbo girlfriend he was speaking to earlier. He was arranging dates already? That was pretty low for him to do. That made Rose frown deeply as she turned to face the airport to head inside, she didn't realise it would be so busy of an evening. Now she had to battle through masses of crowds to get checked in. This was going to be great fun!

Frowning once more, Rose heaved her bags along into the airport to get checked in and settled before her flight was called. But as she got deeper into the airport she felt more cramps building up in her stomach. It was obviously nerves as she hated flying, she was fascinated in space etc. but when it came to actually flying she hated it. If ever something went wrong she'd be horrified and terrified.

"Maybe a drink will settle my nerves" Rose mumbled as she dug into her bag to fish out her purse. When she found it she fumbled round until she had enough change to get a small coffee, normally she didn't drink the stuff but it helped calm her nerves. So she headed towards some of the small stalls to buy a drink before checking in properly.

* * *

"Seth calm down okay?"

"Calm down? Alex I can't get to the airport without Daniel!"

"Don't rely on him so much, hail a cab or something!"

"No cabs come round this abandoned area you know that"

"Well run there; find a bike anything to get there!" Seth just sighed out of frustration; he was desperate to get to the airport but had no way of getting there without being recognised and then followed by people. It was crazy around this time of night and Seth couldn't be seen on the streets. But he needed to get to Rose and he needed Daniel to get back so he could take him to the airport.

"Seth… you're in luck" Alex said as she looked out into the corridor and saw Daniel walking into the building.

"Oh thank god!" Seth said as he hurried over to Daniel who was startled when Seth grabbed him by the shoulders. "Daniel we've gotta go and we've gotta go now"

"Oh okay… where to?"

"The airport"

"The airport?"

"Yes"

"Going somewhere?"

"No I've gotta stop Rose from going to England"

Daniel smiled then and said "Oh okay lets go"

"Thank you" then Daniel and Seth hurried out of the building and headed to the car.

"Why are you chasing after Rose suddenly?" Daniel asked once he'd put his seatbelt on and made sure Seth was safely in the car before heading out onto the main road again.

"I love her and I need to tell her that"

"And…"

"And stop her from going to England. She belongs with me and I'm gonna prove that to her"

"Well she'll be glad to hear that"

"Good"

"She looked a barrel of nerves when I dropped her off, so this is probably a good thing"

"I know it's a good thing, she can't go to England I couldn't live with myself if I let her go"

"I'll try and get you there as fast as I can buddy but traffic was building up when I left the airport 10 minutes ago"

"We've gotta get there, speed, overtake… do anything, just do whatever it takes Daniel"

"I'll try Seth but is it worth the risk of getting arrested and thrown in jail?"

"I don't care Daniel I've got money and I'll use it to my advantage. Just get me to that airport" Daniel had to try and hide a smile as he was driving, Seth was desperately in love with this girl and would do whatever it takes to get to her.

"Hold on tight then Seth… we're gonna do some serious speeding"

"Now you're talking"

* * *

Rose had managed to get a small coffee after battling through crowds and crowds of people arriving and departing from the airport. It was completely crazy but Rose had eventually found a quiet spot to sit and drink until she needed to check in. So she sat down and sipped on her coffee whilst looking around. It was mostly couples that she saw and she envied them, they were all happy with kisses and cuddles yet here she was with nobody to hold or make her laugh. Men seemed to avoid Rose like the plague and she had no idea why. But then she thought about Seth and her heart felt a bit warmer inside, he was perfect in every way but something always got in the way whenever they had gotten close.

First Harriet the whore, then it was Artie and then it was Harriet again. Saying those nasty cruel words drove Rose to a suicide attempt, but she always counted her lucky stars that she survived. A lot of things had happened to Rose, but now she needed to put those things behind her and move forward. Her future was in England now, although it was hard to accept right now, she'd eventually get used to it and forget about everybody… even Seth. But when his name popped into her mind, again she felt butterflies and the cramps got worse.

What was wrong with her? Why wouldn't she stand thinking about Seth? He was the main reason she was going to England, to get away from him to mend her heart and move on!

"I'm fed up of lovey dovey couples now, I'm moving somewhere else" Rose mumbled as she checked her watch seeing it was almost 9pm. Now she definitely needed to check in properly and wait around. So she dragged her suitcase along behind her and made her way towards the check in point.

* * *

"Come on Daniel we've gotta move!"

"Seth I cannot make the cars move for you okay. Even if you are famous!" Seth slumped back onto the backseat and let out a frustrated sigh. He'd been travelling with Daniel towards the airport but they'd hit major traffic and nobody was moving anywhere.

"Look Seth I'm sorry but we just can't get there in time" Daniel replied when he saw Seth looking angry as he watched the cars through the blacked out windows.

"I know Daniel but I need to get there"

"I'm trying to get you there"

"Try harder"

"Look I can't drive on the sidewalks I'd get thrown in jail and lose my job!" Seth sighed angrily again and thumped the seats with his fist. It was closing in on 9pm and soon Rose would be heading towards her flight to board and then he'd never see her again. He couldn't let that happen, but it was just typical to have traffic building up now!

"You must love this girl you know"

"I do love her Daniel… more than anything"

"Why did she go to the airport then if you love her?"

"Because I was stupid enough to let her get away from me, I should have told her from the start that I loved her and should have told her not to go to England but I didn't"

"Well I hope it works out for ya buddy, but from what I can see it's gridlock all the way up the road"

"God dammit!" Seth said angrily as he ran a hand through his hair. He needed to get to Rose and he'd do anything to get there, even if it meant running. "How much further to the airport?"

"About 2 blocks but like I said, its complete gridlock"

"I don't care anymore" Seth replied undoing his seatbelt and scrambling around.

"What are you doing?"

"If I can't drive there I'm running"

"What? Seth you'll never make it in time!"

"I'll run fast"

"I've never seen you run before"

"Trust me I can run and run fast"

"Good luck then man"

"Later Dan" Seth said scrambling out of the car getting ready to run to the airport. But he felt like turning back to the car as the rain was pouring down heavily soaking him through. But then he thought about Rose and suddenly the rain didn't matter. He'd run the 2 blocks quickly and soon have Rose in his arms again. "Hey man are you gonna be okay?" Daniel shouted through the window to Seth who pulled his hood on to try and keep himself dry.

"I'll be fine; I'm getting my Rose back rain or no rain!" Seth shouted back before setting off down the street quickly. He'd run for miles before his legs quit on him and even then he'd drag himself there.

"I'm coming Rose" Seth said to himself as he ran down the sidewalk, dodging people as he went. He was cold and wet but he had a heart full of love and determination and he'd get himself to that airport!

* * *

"People are gonna think I'm weird if I keep doing that" Rose mumbled as she headed towards the checking in desk. As she walked along she kept turning her head to look back at the crowds, receiving some funny looks as she did. But she kept getting a strange feeling deep inside, like somebody was calling her so it kept making her turn around to check if there actually was somebody calling out her name. But the buzz of the large crowds around her was making her paranoid.

Who'd have thought an airport would be crazy at this time of night!

"Get a grip Rose" Rose sighed and shook her head as she waited in the queue of people. If she kept talking to herself she definitely would be branded as a weirdo. So she kept her mouth shut as she stood in line to check in. But that strange feeling still wouldn't go away, what the hell was happening to her these days!

* * *

"Seth my god what the hell are you doing out here?" Amy asked surprised as she nearly got knocked flying by Seth who had turned the corner and ran straight into her.

"Amy, I'm sorry" Seth said holding Amy's hand to steady her until she got her balance back.

"Seth I'm surprised to bump into you. What are you doing out in this rain?"

"I'm… heading to the air-airport" Seth replied breathlessly as he put his hands on his knees and tried to gather himself back together.

"It sounds like you've been running for miles, why didn't you hail a cab or something?!"

"Too much traffic… had to run"

"What for?"

"I'm going to get Rose"

"From the airport? Since when has she been on holiday?"

"Amy she's leaving town to head to England"

"What?!" Amy replied wide-eyed.

"She got offered a job in England and she took it, but it's a huge mistake and I've gotta stop her"

"Because?"

"Because I love her, Amy she's my life and I need her here with me. She can't go to England but I'm never gonna make it in time"

"Don't worry sweetie you will, I'll try and cause a distraction"

"How?"

"I'll ring her and in that time you can run there so you'll still make it" Seth smiled a little and said "Thank you"

"Not a problem... now go… go!" Seth nodded and then continued running up the street towards the airport. Amy smiled as she watched him go, that man was desperately in love and she hoped Rose would make the right decision.

* * *

"Shoot… now is not the time for my phone to ring" Rose said as she had finally got the front of the checking in line but now of all times, her phone rings! She managed to fish it out of her pocket and saw it was Amy calling,

"Hello"

"You tell everybody else you're leaving apart from your best friend?! And then you can't even say goodbye? Rose how could you?!" Rose's eyes went wide as she'd never heard Amy mad before. She knew this call would take a while, so she sighed deeply and moved out of the line to go and stand somewhere quiet. But then she cursed as she saw the size of the queue and knew she'd have to stand in that all over again!

"Listen Amy-"

"Rose that was totally selfish of you! What about Charlotte? And Jack! They'll never see you again!"

"Amy I'm sorry okay, I've just been busy and you know how forgetful I can be when I'm busy and panicking"

"I know Rose but that doesn't make up for this! I'll never see you again" Rose felt her eyes welling up with tears as it was dawning on her that she wouldn't be close to any of her friends anymore. She'd be on her own again and that wasn't a good thing.

"I'm sorry" Rose whispered as she sniffed and wiped her eyes from the tears.

"Rose I didn't mean to make you cry" Amy replied, "It's just I'm upset because I'll hardly ever see you now and you didn't even tell me you'd got a job"

"I didn't tell a lot of people"

"So you'd just assumed you could take off without anybody noticing?"

"No I just-"

"Rose you need to understand that so many people love you here, of course we'd notice if you just took off and left!" Rose sniffed again and wiped more tears away from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry I didn't say goodbye to you Amy"

"Well it's too late now but at least we can still talk on the phone. How long before you have to check in?"

"My flight is at 10pm but I had to leave the queue when you called so I've gotta queue again to check in" it was a good job Rose couldn't see the smile on Amy's face, so the plan was working! Now she just hoped Seth would make it in time.

"Well don't worry sweetie, you'll make it"

"Yeah…" Rose said quietly and then sighed.

"That didn't sound positive, what's up Rose?"

"Nothing… just worried about flying"

"Are you sure it's not something more than that?"

"It's just kinda dawned on me that I'll never really see you again"

"Oh honey you know that's not true, whenever you've got time off you should fly back over here for a few days" Rose smiled at that idea, but it still wouldn't be the same as she'd still have to fly back to England and work without any friends surrounding her.

"Anyway sweetie I better let you go, it's getting late and you need to get boarding soon"

"Okay then… again I'm really sorry I didn't say goodbye to you Amy, I feel so awful"

"You can make it up to me soon don't worry"

"You sound so sure on that… know something I don't?"

"Not at all Rose"

"Alright then… I call you the minute I land in England"

"Make sure you do, I wanna hear everything"

"I'll talk to you later then"

"Take care sweetie, have a safe flight!"

"Bye Amy"

"Later Rose" Rose ended the call and then put her phone away back in her pocket. Then she wiped her eyes from the tears and breathed in deeply. She needed to check in for definite now otherwise she'd miss her flight. So she turned around and headed towards the queue that had thankfully died down now so there were only a few people. Now she could quickly check in and finally get out of here!

* * *

"Thank god for that!" Seth said as he finally made it to the airport. It was still busy which did worry him a lot as people could easily recognise him and ask him for things. He was in no mood to be doing Stewie and Peter impressions all night, right now he was just a regular guy in love desperately trying to get the happy ending he deserved. So he braced himself before heading into the airport to try and find Rose. But the sea of people in front of him was making it difficult to spot her.

There were people rushing around all over the place and it was making his eyes hurt.

"Dammit where are you Rose!" Seth said quietly as he turned around in every direction trying to pick out a redheaded girl but it was impossible. His sneakers squeaked loudly on the floor, as he was soaked to the bone from the heavy rain. He'd run a long way but he didn't care; he was determined to find Rose and do anything to get her.

* * *

"Do you reckon he's found her?" Alec asked Alex as she paced the room back at the studios. "I hope so Alec… for everybody's sake" Alex replied with a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. It was late and everybody was tired… but they'd promised they'd be here to support Seth if he came back without Rose.

"I think he has" Artie said with high hopes, "He'd do anything to get her"

"Can you imagine what it'd be like if Seth and Rose finally got together" Mila said happily, "They could get married and have babies! Aww a little version of Seth would be adorable!" Alex smiled at Mila's happiness and hoped that, that would actually happen. Seth would sacrifice anything to get Rose and he'd give her anything she wanted… a house, a car, animals, a huge diamond ring, anything she wanted he'd give it her. So now it was down to Rose to make the right decision to stay in America to live the life with Seth she's always wanted.

"I call dibs on being the auntie!" Mila called out loudly

"I'm the first uncle!" Danny said making the guys groan in frustration,

"Oh come on no fair!" Artie grumbled.

"I called it first so I win"

"But we weren't prepared for it!"

"I call second uncle!" Alec said and then laughed at Artie's face but he soon got his revenge,

"I call godfather!"

"I call godmother!" Alex shouted and then laughed with Artie as everybody else grumbled negative comments. "I really do hope Rose makes the right decision," Alex said with a sigh.

"Don't worry Alex… have faith!" Mila said with a smile making Alex smile too. But she couldn't stop thinking about Seth… did he make it in time?

* * *

"Can I help you sir?" the woman at the desk asked as she noticed Seth scrambling towards the information desk. "Hi I'm looking for a young woman called Rose, she came in here about an hour ago… long red hair, had a lot of suitcases with her" Seth replied to the young woman who looked blank for a moment before saying, "Erm… I might need a few more details than that" Seth raked his brains trying to remember what she was wearing,

"She had on a… pink t-shirt and faded jeans" again the woman looked blank but then she looked over Seth's shoulder and spotted the woman he was describing. She looked like she was panicking as she was rummaging through her bag looking for something.

"Is that her sir?" the woman asked Seth who looked confused but then she nodded in the direction where the woman was and Seth turned around to see. Instantly his heart skipped a beat… there she was… now was his chance!

* * *

"Shoot where is it!" Rose said panicking as she rummaged around her bag looking for her passport. She'd put it in there with everything else, but now it had gone missing and without it she was screwed. But as she searched her bag she couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. She knew it was stupid as there were thousands of people in the airport with her… but she felt sure somebody was staring at her. The next voice she heard proved her suspicions were correct,

"Rose!" she looked up from her bag and nearly collapsed on the floor when she saw who it was. "Seth" Rose squeaked out as she saw him running towards her, he was completely drenched but she could tell he didn't care.

"Thank god you're still here" Seth said as he stood in front of her and took in everything about her, she looked confused more than anything but she still looked beautiful. "What are you-" Rose began to say but Seth cut her off.

"Rose please don't go to England… I love you so much and I couldn't face the world if I let you go. I was foolish enough to let you come this far but now I can't let you get on that plane"

"But I-"

"Nothing you say is gonna convince me otherwise Rose, I know you love me too I can see it in your eyes. I know it scared you when you felt it the first time and I know it's scaring you now because you're feeling it again because I'm here. There's nothing to be scared of Rose, I've always been here"

"But what about Harriet and this new girl"

"Harriet meant nothing to me and there is no other girl, you're the only one Rose"

"You were on the phone though-"

"I was on the phone to one of the FOX executives talking about your contract"

"My… my contract?"

"Yes"

"But-"

"I was going to surprise you with a contract to work with Family Guy as one of the storyboard artists. But then this whole mess came up and then everything changed" Rose was speechless at his words; he wanted her to work for Family Guy? And he still loved her? Surely he was kidding now!

Seth noticed the look on Rose's face and knew his words were getting to her, she was softening up and soon he'd win her heart back. "Ever since we first met Rose I knew we'd be together someday. I've never felt so happy in my entire life, you came in and changed everything and I can't let you slip away from me. I love you Rose Daniels and I'll tell you that as many times as you need to hear it" Rose was still speechless as she stared up at Seth, her hair falling beautifully around her face as she fidgeted with the sleeves of her cardigan.

"I don't want you to go away Rose; you're the only woman I've ever chased after. I ran here to come and get you… ran all the way through the rain not bothering what people said as I passed them by. The only person I could see in my eyes was you and now that I'm here I'll do anything to prove my love to you" Seth knew there was a crowd gathering around them as people were interested to see how this would turn out. Other people had recognised Seth and wondered what he was doing.

"I'm not bothered about all of these people Rose; they're just in the background. I can only see you and what you say and do are more important. You see me for me; you don't want me to do voices all the time, you laugh when I try to be funny and you always know when there's something wrong. You're everything to me Rose and I'll get down on my knees and beg you to stay if that's what it takes"

"No" Rose squeaked out in reply making Seth look at her and take a few steps forward. The tears were streaming down Rose's face and Seth knew that he'd won. "I love you Rose, please stay with me" Rose looked up at him for a long lingering minute before making her decision. This man had just bared his heart and soul to her in the middle of a crowded airport not caring about what others thought. He was amazing to her and after hearing those words there was only one choice she could make.

So Rose let go of her suitcases and let them fall to the floor, then she looked into Seth's eyes and whispered "I'll stay" making Seth grin and pull Rose into his arms. The airport exploded with cheers as Seth leant his forehead against Rose's before kissing her passionately. But Rose broke the kiss and laughed as Seth lifted her off the floor and swung her around in happiness. Then he set her back down on the floor and brushed the hair out of her face, "I've got you all wet now"

"I don't care" Rose replied as she caressed his cheek before kissing him again. The tears were still glistening on her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you, I love you so much" Rose said and then smiled as it felt so right saying it.

"I love you too Rose" Seth replied as he leant Rose back so he could stare into her eyes. He could see the love in her eyes and he knew for sure he'd made the right decision chasing after her.

They'd been through a lot together and now they had a happy future to look forward to and Seth couldn't wait for it to start.


End file.
